By the middle of next year 90 per cent of the UK adult population will be able to send payments to people using their mobile phone, with no need to disclose account details, according to the Payments Council.
The body, which represents UK financial institutions dealing with payments, is set to launch its new mobile payments service in Spring 2014 which will enable the transfer of money using a mobile phone number as a proxy, eliminating the need to use any sort codes or account numbers.
Service users have to register to send and receive payments, but once people have signed up making payments will be ‘as easy as sending a text’ according to the council.
Currently financial institutions representing 90 per cent of UK account holders are signed up to accept the service, with talks currently underway with other providers.
Payments Council chief executive Adrian Kamellard said: “The mobile payments project is a fantastic example of the unique role the Payments Council can play in delivering far-reaching, innovative improvements for customers.