The inauguration Bump Labs threw its chapeau into thecrowded mobile paymentsring on Thursday , establish an app that take into account people to exchange money by tapdance their phones together .
The app , called Bump Pay , builds on the company ’s core technology , which enable two smartphones using Bump apps to transfer data by being tapped together . Unlike NFC ( near - field communicating ) , which Google and others are further for mobile payments , Bump requires physical contact between equipment . The company ’s current app , called Bump , allows users to transfer contact lens information and photos .
To apply Bump Pay , a substance abuser types in how much money he or she wants to send and then bumps earphone with the intended recipient . Bump ’s software settle which two phones collided . The app then transfers funds from one exploiter ’s PayPal story to the other ’s . Both user must have antecedently download the app and unite it to their PayPal accounts .
“ Bump Pay is interesting because of its novelty , which may goad trial , but being within arm ’s reach of the person you ’re paying back is not always commodious and will limit its usefulness , ” said Denee Carrington , an analyst with Forrester Research .
But Chris Silva , an Altimeter Group analyst , sees proximity as the right approaching in the U.S. , “ where citizenry are just so paranoid about using any type of technology where there ’s a dealing take away place and you ’re not really exchanging funds or a add-in . ”
“ I think it do sense for what multitude are going to feel comfortable using , ” Silva said .
As for the security of the app , Silva note that some Bump wage substance abuser could take that they had incidentally intercept another somebody ’s phone , and thus attempt to withhold their monetary resource . “ There ’s a risk , but it ’s almost completely borne by the course credit card issuer and the bank who are going to be mystify intercede those disputes . ”
Bump Pay will compete withVenmo , SquareandPayPal Here , among other troupe .
Bump Payis initially usable only for the iPhone .
