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In-app Payments

Requirements

Why do I need to change my Signal PIN?

A Signal PIN is used to recover the wallet linked to your Signal account if you reinstall. You will be asked to change your PIN if

  • there is a balance of at least 500 MOB in the wallet linked to your Signal account, and
  • the PIN is not alphanumeric.

The PIN is unknown to Signal and it can not be reset if you forget it. 

Supported Cryptocurrencies

MobileCoin
MobileCoin is a cryptocurrency designed to be used as digital cash on your phone. Information about the transaction is private: sender, receiver, amount transferred, and message are all unknown to Signal.

Activate Payments

Activating payments will let you send and receive supported cryptocurrencies.

  1. Fulfill the requirements listed above.
  2. On your phone, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Activate Payments > Accept and Agree to Terms.

Payments details

View Transactions

Transaction details, including the payment amount and time of transaction, are part of the MobileCoin ledger and are unknown to Signal.

  • View transaction history and details on your phone in Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments.
  • Tap a transaction to see its status and message. 
  • After there are a few transactions, tap See All, to view sent and received activity separately.

Network Fee & Coin Cleanup Fee

All fees are determined by and collected by MobileCoin, not Signal.

Coin Cleanup Fee is charged when the coins in your possession can not be combined to complete a transaction. It is also known as a defrag fee.

  1. Your total funds or total coins are viewed as a record of your transactions. 
  2. If you need to send or receive a payment consisting of more than 16 inputs or outputs there is a coin cleanup fee.

Change Currency Conversion

  • The currency is based on the country code of your Signal number.
  • To convert to a different currency, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Menu > Set Currency > select the currency.
  • The currency conversion will apply for the existing balance. This does not apply to past transactions.

Currency Conversion Freshness

  • Currency conversions are estimated prices that should be used as a guide at the time of transfer.
  • Currency conversions will fluctuate as exchange rates are changing.

Send Payments

THIS ACTION CAN NOT BE UNDONE. Be certain of where you are sending to.

  1. On your phone, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Send Payment.
  2. Select a contact that accepts payments.
  3. Enter the amount you want to send.
  4. Add a note and select the check mark.
  5. Tap Pay.
  6. Tap Confirm Payment.
    Note: THIS ACTION CAN NOT BE UNDONE. Once you confirm, the funds will process.

or

  1. Go to the chat with your contact.
  2. Select the attachment icon and select Pay.
  3. Enter the amount you want to send.
  4. Add a note and select the check mark.
  5. Tap Pay.
  6. Tap Confirm Payment.
    Note: THIS ACTION CAN NOT BE UNDONE. Once you confirm, the funds will process.

Request Payments

This is not supported at this time.

Cancel or Undo Payment

You can not cancel a payment once you have hit send. You can message your contact and ask them to send you a payment.

If you hit Send, your payment will process. Turning your phone off or disabling your connection will not stop the payment if you have hit send.

Deactivate Payments

You will not be able to send or receive payments in Signal after you deactivate.

  1. Recommended: View and copy the wallet passphrase before proceeding.
  2. On your phone, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Menu > Deactivate Payments.
  3. Recommended: Transfer a balance to use again.
    Note: If you choose not to transfer, they will remain in your Signal account until you activate. 
  4. Tap Deactivate.

Restore wallet with passphrase

Restore the wallet linked to your Signal account by using the recovery passphrase you previously recorded. Your recovery passphrase is a total of 24 words.

  1. Have your 24 words available.
  2. On your phone, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Restore Payments Account.
  3. Tap Start.
  4. Enter a word.
  5. Select Next.
  6. Repeat until all 24 words are entered in order.
  7. Review the recovery phrase list.
  8. Tap Next to submit the passphrase.
  9. If the passphrase is not correct you will start again from the beginning. 

View wallet passphrase

Your balance will automatically restore when you reinstall Signal if you confirm your Signal PIN. You can also restore your balance using a recovery phrase, which is a 24-word phrase unique to you. Write it down and store it in a safe place. You can view this list again after creating.

  1. On your phone, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Menu > View Recovery Phrase.
  2. Tap Start.
  3. Record the 24 words in order.
  4. Tap Next.
  5. Enter the two words that are requested.
  6. Tap Done.
  7. Recovery passphrase is saved the first time you complete this.
    Note: There is a limit to your attempts.

Transfer in from an exchange

You must have a supported cryptocurrency accessible on an exchange before you can add it to the wallet linked to your Signal account.

  1. On your phone, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Add Money.
  2. Tap Copy to copy the wallet address linked to your Signal account.
  3. Go to a supported exchange.
  4. Follow steps to send on your exchange, paste the wallet address linked to your Signal account and send.
  5. Return to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments.

Transfer out to an exchange

THIS ACTION CAN NOT BE UNDONE. Be certain of where you are transferring to.

  1. On your phone, go to Signal Settings profile_avatar.png > Payments > Menu > Transfer to exchange.
  2. Go to your exchange and view the wallet address.
  3. In Signal, scan or enter the wallet address from the exchange. For the address, look for the 26-35 string of numbers and letters most commonly below the QR code. 
  4. Tap Next.
  5. Tap Pay.
  6. Tap Confirm.
    Note: THIS ACTION CAN NOT BE UNDONE.

Uninstalled Signal

  • If you remember your Signal PIN, you can recover settings and the wallet linked to your Signal account.
  • If you do not know your Signal PIN, you can register and restore the wallet linked to your Signal account with the 24 word passphrase. Follow the steps listed above.

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