Today we released Circle’s first native apps for both iOS and Android. These apps are a critical companion to the web service we launched several weeks ago, allowing customers to use native apps to make payments, send and request money, and instantly deposit and convert money between dollars and bitcoin.
Circle’s mobile apps focus on the core tasks in using digital money:
- Sending and requesting money using your phone’s Contact’s email addresses and Bitcoin addresses.
- Performing in-person transactions using QR Codes
- Instantly converting between dollars and bitcoin using linked bank accounts and cards.
We also focused on smartphone-specific features for enhancing the security of your digital finance experience, including leveraging Multi-Factor Authentication, using app-specific PIN Codes for quick access, and new OS-specific features like TouchID to make payments.
We’re particularly excited about our Android release, both because of its feature completeness, and also because Android is becoming an important platform for finance on a worldwide basis. Low-cost Android phones are coming to markets like India, Indonesia, and Africa, where the vast majority of users don’t have bank accounts, and where digital currency services could become a critical new utility. While the initial release is US only, you can expect to see Circle’s apps available in more markets, languages, and currencies.
We also tap new features in the iPhone and iOS, such as TouchID, which, as noted, can be used for securing the use of Circle, and the new inter-app APIs, which initially we use to enable the use of 1Password with Circle, for enhanced password security.
Give the apps a try. We’d love your feedback!
Jeremy & Sean