Signal starts testing payments with cryptocurrency support - Android

The popular privacy-focused messaging app Signal has now ventured into the space of mobile payments. Signal Payments is the new feature that is getting beta-tested in the United Kingdom (UK). Jun Harada, Head of Growth and Communication at Signal, announced the new feature through an official blog post.

Signal Payments supports cryptocurrencies but only of one kind for the moment. The team has opted for the MobileCoin network of peer-to-peer payments which has its own currency MOB. The reason behind choosing it over other more well-known cryptocurrencies is its focus on user privacy. It falls in line with the vision of Signal which helped it gained an audience in the first place, especially after the recent WhatsApp privacy policy controversy.

If you are a Signal user from the UK, you should start seeing the new payments option after the latest beta update. It will let you send and receive payments from family and friends as easily as sending and receiving text messages. All you will need to do is link your MobileCoin wallet with the messaging app. Signal says just like messages, it does not have access to any of the transaction-related data. It is important to note that Payments is available only through Signal smartphone apps and not on the web version.

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