The bank released an updated version of its iPhone app [iTunes link] on Wednesday morning that integrates an API from Bump Technologies, a startup that makes it easy to transfer information between phones by tapping them together.
Previously Bump’s technology has been used to exchange contact information, photos and music between users. This is the first time that a bank has leveraged it for person-to-person payments.
Many banks (including ING Direct) are experimenting with another technology called near field communication (NFC), which could one day power phone-to-phone transactions. But there are a limited number of NFC-enabled devices in the market, and security standards have yet to emerge.
Bump is much simpler.
The startup’s app and API recognize tapping m otions and maps them. When a Bump is recognized, a signal is sent to cloud servers that match it with another Bump that occurred at the exact same place and time. It decides those two Bumps are a match, and exchanges information between them.
In ING’s case, each user will need to log into his or her secure account to send or receive payment. Bump’s role is to ID participants in a person-to-person transaction instead of requiring them to type and verify account numbers.
Both participants in an ING Direct Bump transaction need to have ING Electric Orange online checking accounts in order to use the new feature. In the future, says ING Direct CIO Rudy Wolfs, ING Direct account holders will also be able to Bump payments to friends who have accounts at other banks. Bump’s API is free and open, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see other banks implement similar features into their apps.
For now, the feature is only useful in limited circumsta nces: if you happen to be...
