science

Paym

Paym is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paym rather than just read about it. In short: Paym ( PAY-əm) was a mobile payment system provided by banks and building societies in the United Kingdom. Recipients were identified by their mobile phone number instead of bank details such as sort code and account number.

Key takeaways

Paym belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paym to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paym from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paym ( PAY-əm) was a mobile payment system provided by banks and building societies in the United Kingdom. Recipients were identified by their mobile phone number instead of bank details such as sort code and account number. The service was developed by the Payments Council and participating banks and building societies, with Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Danske Bank, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Santander and TSB involved from the launch in April 2014. More than nine out of ten current accounts in the UK supported Paym after Clydesdale Bank, First Direct, Isle of Man Bank, NatWest, RBS International, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Yorkshire Bank joined later in 2014. Nationwide Building Society joined Paym in June 2015, with Metro Bank and Tesco Bank planning to join later in 2015. The underlying network technology is provided by VocaLink. The name "Paym" was stylised in the logo with a slight gap between "Pay" and "m", and is a play on words over "Pay 'em", a contraction of "Pay them", and "Pay M" alluding to "Pay Mobile". In 2018 Paym had around 4 million users. The recipient had to register in order to link their mobile phone number with their bank account. Those wishing to make a payment to a registered phone number could use their existing mobile banking or online banking service. Payments made through Paym took place at the same speeds as existing Faster Payments or LINK payment mechanisms. The sender would enter the recipient's phone number (or selects their number in their own phone's address book). The sender's bank would then retrieve the account number and sort code associated with that phone number, and then send the money using the Faster Payments Service. The sender was shown the recipient's name (in order to confirm that they were paying the right person) but not their account details. The Paym service closed down on 7 March 2023.

See also Barclays Pingit Swish (payment) A similar system in use in Sweden PayID A similar system in use in Australia MB Way A similar system in use in Portugal

References

External links Paym Mobile Payments

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paym

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paym claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paym before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paym ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paym

In research: Paym appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paym in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paym is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Banking in the United Kingdom, Banking technology, Finance stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paym outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paym in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paym means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paym out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paym in simple terms?

Why does Paym matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paym?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paym.