If you have a Barclays bank account, you can now make payments simply by instructing Siri to do it.
The feature, added to the latest version of the company’s iOS app, uses the Siri integration for payment apps Apple introduced with iOS 10. PayPal took advantage of this last November, but banks have been slow to do so …
Making a payment is as simple as ‘Hey Siri, pay John Appleseed $10 with Barclays.’ As with PayPal, the exact wording shouldn’t be important so long as you specify the person, the amount and Barclays.
To prevent someone picking up your unlocked phone and asking Siri to make a payment to them, Barclays says several protections are in place. First, you need to opt-in to the feature.
Second, it will only work with someone you’ve paid before, or someone in your iPhone contacts. Third, you need to confirm payment with TouchID. Finally, there are unspecified single and daily transaction limits.
Given these kind of protections, it seems surprising that more banks haven’t yet added Siri integration to their apps. It’s certainly something I’d like to see my bank offer.
Barclays says that the system is designed primarily for person-to-person payments, and may not work with companies.
Barclays Mobile Banking is a free download from the App Store.
Via Engadget. Photo: Reuters.
