LIVE FROM OPEN MOBILE SUMMIT, LONDON: Paym, a new mobile payments system launched in the UK in April, has reached half a million users, according to Nigel King, MPS programme director for the Payments Council.

Paym is a product developed by the Payments Council that enables users to make payments to friends and family using just their mobile number. The technology is mainly pitched at users who make lots of small payments, either to lend money or repay informal loans to friends and family.

Around 30 million customers currently have the option to use the service by registering their mobile number with their bank, with another 10 million customers due to have access by the end of the year.

Speaking at the Open Mobile Summit, King said the Payments Council is now looking at how it can develop the technology in the future.

Firstly, it is looking at how it can use other proxies — such as email addresses or driving licence numbers — to authenticate payments and services, which banks could potentially hold centrally.

The Payments Council is also looking at making the technology suitable for other payment requests, international payments and developing a corporate offering. “So there are plenty of opportunities here,” King noted.

Despite the positive uptake in the first few weeks of availability, King acknowledged there is still work to be done to inform people about Paym: “We’ve got to embed this with our key advocates and drive it on from there.”