Milan, march 10th, 2015 - "The world has changed" - says Elisabeth Rizzotti, Digital Channels & Communication at UBI Banca - "Our customers more and more claim for simplicity and quickness, especially in contexts, like banking services industry, that are looked to as lacking in innovation.

The smartphone is now part of our everyday life, and is deeply changing the people’s behavior, especially purchasing behaviour.

With this innovative 'funds transfer service', from a person to another, UBI Banca offers its clients a completely innovating experience, which  is as simple and immediate as a whatsapp message, while maintaining the security features of a traditional bank transfer".

UBI Banca launches UBIPay, a suite of electronic payment apps designed to simplify everyday life. It makes services which until now were only possible using cash, payment cards and home banking services available simply and easily on your smartphone.

With “Invio denaro” (I send cash) UBI is the first bank in Italy to make the transfer of funds between individuals as easy as sending a message from your smart phone.

You can use it to make a gift to a friend or to share a bill at a restaurant or for example in the family to give pocket money to your children. This new app is as simple and intuitive to use as sending an SMS. It works in real time and with all the security of as bank transfer.

Making payments in shops is now easier than ever thanks to “Pago Contactless” (I Pay Contactless). There is no longer any need to hand over a credit card or debit card to a shop assistant. Customers just place their smartphones on the POS terminals themselves and then continue as usual. What’s more, for payments of less than €25 you don’t even need  to type in a PIN number or sign a receipt.

With the “Portafoglio Carte” (Card Wallet) service your smartphone becomes a virtual wallet in which you can put one or more payment cards: credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards.

This function can be used for online purchases without the need to type in the data for the payment cards every time and to enter addresses for deliveries and invoicing.