A new industry-wide mobile payment service says its final testing is on track and it’ll announce a launch date next month. Once the service is launched, consumers will be able to transfer money to someone else’s bank account by using their mobile phone number instead of a sort code and account number.

Bank customers will just need to register their mobile phone number and choose which account they’d like to link their number to. Funds can then be transferred between individuals by using a mobile app.

The service will be called Paym (pronounced as ‘Pay Em’) and it’s being created by the Payments Council, which is is the body that ensures payment services work in the UK. Already nine bank and building society brands have signed up - Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Danske Bank, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Santander and TSB Bank - with more companies due to join the scheme by the end of the year. This would mean that over 90% of UK current accounts were able to use the service.

Paym will work as part of a customer’s existing mobile banking or payment app. There won’t be a separate Paym app, just an update to financial apps currently offered by banks and building societies.

Adrian Kamellard, Chief Executive of the Payments Council, said “Paym is a great example of industry-wide collaboration that delivers tangible benefits for customers. The service has the potential to link up every bank account in the country with a mobile number - millions of people will be able to use it this year and we look forward to expanding Paym even further, so everyone can benefit from this easy, secure new way to pay.”