ING Direct, the largest direct bank in the United States, has released its new person-to-person (P2P) money transfer service based on bump technology. With the new Person2Person Payment function, an ING Direct Electric Orange Checking account holder can send and receive funds by simply "bumping" his or her iPhone against another ING Direct account holder's iPhone. The action initiates an instant, secure payment between the two Electric Orange accounts.

ING Direct is the first U.S. bank to offer fund transfers using this bump technology on smartphones.

"Today, cash is no longer king," ING Direct President and CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann said. "Only seven percent of ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Customers say they pay primarily with cash. With Bump technology, ING Direct Customers can leave the cash at home knowing they have a smartphone in their pocket."

Currently the bump function only works with iPhones, but ING Direct said that customers with BlackBerry or Android-based phones can use Person2Person Payment's email service to send and receive money.