The U.K. bank has announced the introduction of a considerable update to make the process easier.

Barclays has just announced the latest functionality in its Pingit app, as it is now providing large businesses the opportunity to complete mobile payments through the use of only a cell phone number.

This completely removes the requirement for having to submit any sensitive banking data.

Now, the app makes it possible for retailers, insurance companies, utilities, and other larger organizations to be able to send mobile payments without having to obtain or store the details of debit or credit cards. This is because the File Gateway from Barclays gives them the ability to send funds direction into the individual Pingit accounts. Those are available to both Barclays customers and those who are not.

This new mobile payments opportunity is meant to help to bring convenience, speed, and security.

The Barclays head of U.K. corporate payments, Mike Walters, explained that “Consumers today want quick and convenient ways to receive value.” He went on to add that by using mobile payments, they have a solution that is both rapid and secure for accomplishing that goal, without ever having to share their account numbers with anyone else, including the company from whom they are making the purchase.

Walters also went on to state that when it comes to businesses, there is a rising importance which must be taken into consideration regarding the use of mobile payments as a more mainstream part of their business strategies as a whole. The reason is that it provides them with a long list of different potential benefits, including the reduction of the costs associated with the use of checks, as well as the enhancement of the customer experience.

Consumers are using their devices for a growing number of their daily activities and mobile payments can fit into these tasks quite smoothly. Though the option has been slow to take off in many of the western markets, many experts feel that it will not be long before the use of smartphones as a replacement for plastic cards begins to take off at an explosive rate.

Companies agree to tackle mobile commerce

Alibaba, one of China’s largest retail organizations, has entered into a new agreement with Intime Department Store. Intime currently operates 37 retail stores in China and had been looking to establish a stronger presence in the mobile sector. This interest aligns with Alibaba’s own plans and the two companies have agreed to work together to make mobile payments more accessible to consumers. This will be accomplished by Intime incorporating support for the Alipay Wallet application into its stores.

Alipay Wallet to be supported by Intime stores

Alipay was launched in January of this year and represents Alibaba’s approach to mobile commerce. The application is meant to store the financial information of users and make use of this information to facilitate purchases directly from a mobile device. The application currently boasts of more than 100 million users throughout China, making it the country’s premier mobile commerce platform. One of the attractive aspects of the application is the fact that it does not rely on NFC technology. The Alipay Wallet is able to facilitate mobile payments through the scanning of QR codes and similar barcodes.

Companies to expand their focus on mobile payments

Per the agreement, Intime will begin supporting payments being made by customers using the Alipay Wallet. This may help expose more people to the concept of mobile commerce and give them more flexibility when it comes to shopping at Intime stores. Both Alibaba and Intime have also agreed to expand their efforts in the mobile commerce field beyond the use of the Alipay Wallet. Exactly what that entails is not yet known.

Mobile commerce continues to gain traction in China

Mobile commerce has been gaining popularity with Chinese consumers for some time. More people are gaining access to smartphones and tablets and are beginning to demand more convenient and efficient ways to shop. Mobile commerce has been able to win over many people with its convenient aspects, but efficiency can often be a problem, especially if retailers are not comfortable with using mobile commerce platforms effectively.