CBA, Barclays to link mobile payment apps

Commonwealth Bank has teamed up with trans-Atlantic bank Barclays to streamline and simplify mobile payments between Australia and the UK.

The companies have agreed to link up CBA’s CommBank app and Barclays’ Pingit to allow each bank’s retail customers to move money between markets with just a mobile number.

The functionality will be made available to CBA’s 11.8 million retail customers and Barclay’s more than 3 million registered Pingit users in the final quarter of the year.

“We are delighted to offer customers a simple and secure mobile to mobile international payment option through our partnership,” CBA Group Executive for International Banking and Markets Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said.

“This demonstrates the power of two influential global organisations collaborating to deliver world-firsts in financial services innovation.”

CBA recently opened an Innovation Lab in London to help the company take advantage of the latest developments in financial technology (FinTech) innovation, which joins Barclays’ own Rise innovation hub in London.

“We are committed to be at the forefront of innovation for the benefit of our customers, and we want to access the best ideas wherever in the world they may originate. London, and the UK as a whole, has a reputation for nurturing global FinTech innovation,” Rosmarin said.

CBA now operates innovation labs in Sydney, Hong Kong and London.

Pictured: CBA’s Group Executive Institutional Banking & Markets Kelly Bayer Rosmarin and Barclays Group Chief Operating Officer Paul Compton in CBA’s London Innovation Lab.