I was interested in how this was different from pingit, so after a few minutes of googling I found this link.

https://simple.com/blog/instant-simple-to-simple-transfers/

I believe this to be what the original poster posted.

I can't see how it's as handy as pingit, as pingit allows you to have any bank account.

http://www.barclays.co.uk/Mobile/BarclaysPingit/P1242603570446

Maybe pingit is UK only?

Maybe I'm missing something?

I don't know when you last used your bitcoin android wallet, but how hard is it to point your camera at your friends display or request a transaction with NFC and send it? takes exactly 1 second...

That app looks incredibly insecure :I

You can already something similar with Gliph, in addition to the secure messaging they let you send/receive btc to your contacts. Their app is available for both Android/iOS and can also be used on website.

Why on Earth are there so many UK Bitcoin users with a seemingly-great banking system like that? What could they possibly do to make people leave - keep government database of everyone's transactions without need of a warrant? Disallow cash withdrawals? Huge monthly fees and no interest?

Maybe this is the future ?

https://bt.irlbtc.com/view/310027.0

Seth, we will be adding a feature like this to our desktop wallet early next year as a proof-of-concept. This will be a chance to peer review the idea in practice, before it goes to mobile. I'm sure that we can figure out the best ways to protect privacy.

I agree that bitcoin is behind in mobile payments. Plenty of places now accept other forms of mobile payments but still dont accept bitcoin or places that do accept bitcoin theres people who don't know how to set themselves up to pay with bitcoin or even get bitcoins for that matter.

Better ease of use for everyday customers is something that will help bitcoin out a lot. I think theres a gold mind to be made for the first people that really acheive this on a large scale.

Well, today using a third party service I can send Bitcoin to anyone else knowing just that person's mobile phone number or e-mail address (using Coinapult, or Coinbase), or that person's Twitter (using @BTCTip bot), or that person's Reddit username (using BitcoinTip bot), etc.

A problem exists with spoofing though.   I can write the message:


And the problem is, .... you did not make this offer, and ... that address isn't even your Bitcoin address.   With Simple's P2P system such fraudulent activity is reversible and thus there is less chance that the scammer will profit, so there is very little attempts at such type of fraud.    If those transfers of funds were non-reversible their P2P payments system would become a cesspool with spoofed profiles and fake offers, essentially rendering it unusable and giving a black eye to Simple.

Now with the payment protocol coming in Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind v0.9, verifying such a request as being authentic will be easier.

Additionally, I am cautious about using an app without there being two-factor authentication.  But if my mobile is my 2FA device and the app needing the 2FA code is on the same mobile, then 2FA really isn't giving me much additional security.  Right now, my only remedy for such a problem is to only hold in that E-wallet app as much money as I'm willing to lose should my device become compromised.   (In a similar manner as how I don't generally carry more than a certain amount of cash in my physical wallet in my back pocket either.)

These probably aren't the reasons a Bitcoin-based equivalent to Simple's Money Drop isn't already available, just that improvements to security will help make it so that such an app can actually be built and be useful.