Signal testing new payments feature that lets users send and receive cryptocurrency

 Signal does not want its users to link their bank accounts or debit cards to send or receive money on the app, it plans to rely on cryptocurrency for that.

• Encrypted messaging app Signal is testing a new payments feature on its app that would let users send privacy-focused payments.
• The feature is currently available in a beta build for users in the United Kingdom.
• The messaging app is yet to begin testing the features in the other markets.

• Encrypted messaging app Signal is testing a new payments feature on its app that would let users send privacy-focused payments. However, Signal does not want its users to link their bank accounts or debit cards to send or receive money on the app, it plans to rely on cryptocurrency for that. The feature is currently available in a beta build for users in the United Kingdom. The messaging app is yet to begin testing the features in the other markets.

  “The latest Signal betas are rolling out today. Inside, you’ll find performance enhancements, a slew of bug fixes, improvements to the mute settings, and if you’re in the United Kingdom, you’ll see support for Signal Payments a new feature that enables you to send and receive privacy-focused payments as easily as sending or receiving a message. This is a beta feature in a beta build, but for those in the United Kingdom living life on the edge, please help us test and give feedback,” Jun Harada, Signal’s head of growth and communication, said in a blog post.

  Signal is testing the payments feature with one protocol- the Mobilecoin wallet, which has its own currency, MOB. Harada in the blog explained that once you link the Mobilecoin wallet to Signal, you can start sending money to your friend, family and even receive money from them. He reassured that Signal will not have access to your funds, balance etc due to the way Mobilecoin has been designed. Only the sender and receiver will know about the transactions, Signal will not have access to anything related to users' money on its app.

• “Signal Payments makes it easy to link a MobileCoin wallet to Signal, so you can start sending funds to friends and family, receive funds from them, keep track of your balance, and review your transaction history with a simple interface. As always, our goal is to keep your data in your hands rather than ours; MobileCoin’s design means Signal does not have access to your balance, full transaction history, or funds. You can also transfer your funds at any time if you want to switch to another app or service,” Harada explained in the blog.

  The feature is available to users in the United Kingdom for testing. Signal is looking forward to the feedbacks and will expand beta to other markets on the basis of that.