PayPal to launch new in-store mobile payment services

eBay is launching a host of in-store payment processing services for retailers, via PayPal, over the coming months. The services do not rely on the use of near-field communications (NFC) or credit or debit cards.

The new services include the functionality to allow users to pay for products in-store by scanning barcode with their smartphones in-store and paying for them via an app. This means that there is no need to queue at a till or use a credit or debit card.

Another service will allow users to pay at a till in-store with their mobile number. The user simply keys in their phone number and PIN at the cash register in order to authorise a payment from a specified bank account.

It is also launching features such as geo-targeted mobile advertising, to push special offers to customers on behalf of retailers, depending on their location; real-time inventory availability, to allow customers to identify whether the product they want is in stock and which sizes are available, and the firm is also looking to introduce its own virtual mobile wallets.

“PayPal is re-imagining money and making it work better for merchants and consumers – whatever device you’re on, wherever you are in the world, and however you prefer to pay, whether that’s cash, credit, or instalments,” said Scott Thompson, president at PayPal.

“We’re rolling out a one-stop shop for merchants to engage their customers directly during every part of the shopping lifecycle –  generating demand from consumers through location-based offers, making payments accessible from any device, not just from the mobile phone, and offering more flexibility to customers even after they’ve checked out.”

eBay has been working on a number of initiatives in the mobile payment space with PayPal, recently making two announcements; one in collaboration with Google to allow Android users with NFC-enabled phones able to send money to each other just by bumping the handsets together and its $240m acquisition of Zong, a transaction firm with strong ties to Facebook.