PayPal expands mobile payments range
PayPal has expanded the range of payment services it offers users of its app introducing pre-order and pay at table functions that account holders can use in restaurants.
PayPal app users can order take-away from Wagamama restaurants with plans to extend the service to the payment service brand’s other restaurant partners.
Diners at Prezzo can now pay for their meal and split bills at Prezzo restaurants with a roll-out to other partners also likely.
Elsewhere, all Gourmet Burger Kitchen outlets now accept ‘payment by profile picture’ following a trial in the burger chain’s Richmond branch.
All three services require app users to ‘check in’ and enter their PIN before they can be used.
Activity to promote the new features will target existing PayPal customers.
PayPal is looking to steal a march on rivals in the payments sector by offering a suite of services it hopes will meet and anticipate demand from consumers for mobile payment options. It already offers app users features such as Beacon services – an automated mobile payment system that allows people to make payments hands-free.
Payment brands Visa, Barclaycard and MasterCard are also expanding their range of contactless and mobile services, while Barclays offers account to account mobile payment app Pingit. The Payments Council announced the launch of cross-industry mobile payment service PayM earlier this month, a move PayPal dismissed at the time as “nothing new” to its cutsomers.
The introduction of the new features is PayPal’s latest attempt to grow its user base and revive interest among lapsed users or those that use it only for buying and selling on ebay. It launched its biggest advertising campaign showcasing its range of services in 2013.
