PayPal’s Next Big Move

The global e-commerce online money transfers business, PayPal, is starting to take a huge step into the mobile market. Founded back in 1998 PayPal is a subsidiary of eBay, the world’s largest auction website. eBay purchased the global company, back in 2002, to allow financial transfers via their own website to be safe and easy for their customers. PayPal has grown into a $4.4 billion dollar company which is more than eBay could have ever thought of.

With the advancement of Near Communication Fields (NFC) being implemented into today’s smartphones many companies are seeing how this could affect their business. NFC gives people the opportunity to pay for transactions via their phones. Could this maybe the end of the wallet or even the credit card?

PayPal has just recently entered the mobile credit card market by allowing users to pay for transactions at Home Depot and Jamba Juice. PayPal has future plans to increase their stance by going into retailers such as: Toys R Us, American Eagle, Champs Sports, Dollar General, Foot Locker, Guitar Center and much more! It works by setting up an account online then connecting your phone number to the account. Once you have done that you’re ready to go! The payments work by either using your PayPal payment card or by swiping your phone past the NFC capable card reader. The incentive to use this, you may ask? Well there is no need to carry around a wallet or credit card; PayPal offers extra protection by not sharing your financial info with retailers and it eliminates losing a credit card or worst having it stolen.

Unfortunately for PayPal they have some competitors in this market. Google has been working on their NFC/Online Payment for quite a while now. Google Wallet is now a pre-installed app on all Android devices, with the exception of Verizon phones. Google has reached out to hundreds of retailers and online websites such as TigerDirect. The other major competitor is Verizon’s Isis Payment system. Unlike PayPal or Google, Isis is only available for mobile transfers and not online. Verizon’s feature has currently launched in Austin, TX and Salt Lake City, UT whereas Google and PayPal have moved nationwide.

I, personally, enjoy seeing PayPal, Google and Verizon moving into this market. It creates a safe and easy transaction for myself and others. It may be a while until we see the disappearance of the credit card but it may have seen its time.

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