Realex Creates a Social Network for Payments

Realex Financial Services has launched Realex Fire, an account that enables users to create a circle of people to regularly pay.

Using email addresses and phone numbers, users can invite people to their circle. Users may also view the people who pay them and request payments for specific amounts. Consumers connect their bank accounts to fund payments.

By linking a Facebook profile to the account, users can receive notifications when they get paid or receive a payment request. Realex is testing a mobile app, which it plans to release soon.

“We want to fundamentally transform the payments landscape and make payments safer, more accessible, social and less expensive to process,” says Colm Lyon, Realex Fire’s founder and CEO,  in a press release.

The Dublin-based Realex Financial Services is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, and is one of the few non-banks to join the Irish and Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) networks.

Other payments companies are looking to social networks to fuel their growth. SCVNGR's LevelUp received an influx of new users after integrating with Facebook last year. Companies such as Chirpify ask users to transact primarily through messages on Twitter and other social networks.