The online payments company wants you to use its mobile payment app at any retail store, so it takes a page out of Square's book and uses a generated code that is acceptable just about everywhere. October 8, 2013 5:00 AM PDT (Credit: PayPal) Last month, PayPal introduced a new piece of hardware that would let customers pay for items without taking out their phones, similar to how Square's merchant app works. Now, it's taken another page out of its competitor's book -- the PayPal app will generate a payment QR code that any business with a scanner or PIN code machine can accept. The company, which announced the feature Tuesday, plans to roll it out globally early next year. Don Kingsborough, VP of Retail and Prepaid Products, said it's something PayPal has "researched for a long time," and he believes it's the fastest way to get consumers to adopt mobile payment technology. Conveniently, Square's partnership with coffee giant Starbucks has already taught early adopter customers how to make a payment with a QR code. "They've been to a Starbucks and they've seen how it works...so many people have been habituated to this action already," he said. PayPal's goals go beyond one chain. The company has been testing the feature in Australia and Kingsborough said the codes will be as easy for merchants to adopt as scanning coupons. There are already "millions" of barcode scanners and more than 40 million payment PIN pads in stores around the world, according to PayPal. When a customer checks into a store with the PayPal app, the app will generate a QR code that acts as an individual signature. Merchants can scan the code with a scanner and the payment will go through. If the merchant doesn't have a scanner, there will also be a 4-digit payment code that customers can enter into a PIN pad instead. Kingsborough said the process is "highly secure," because the codes expire. "If you went next door 30 seconds later, you would get a different four-digit code," he said. Related stories Samsung device owners can pay via PayPal for apps, services Credit card companies eye new global payment standard eBay to acquire global payment provider Braintree The process lets PayPal offer merchants a way to take mobile payments without investing in new hardware, which in turn gives customers more shopping options. It's something the company has been racing to achieve. So far, it's done this through partnerships with big retail chains and other retail platforms like Eat24 and NCR. Combined with the recently unveiled Beacon -- a piece of hardware that automatically detects a customer's PayPal mobile app -- the company is trying to cover all its bases in an attempt to grow its app's userbase. "These are the building blocks that allow you to build commerce at speed that consumers want to adopt and the way that they naturally progress, and the way that they want to use their mobile phones," Kingsborough.

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The online payments company wants you to use its mobile payment app at any retail store, so it takes a page out of Square's book and uses a generated code that is acceptable just about everywhere. October 8, 2013 5:00 AM PDT (Credit: PayPal) Last month, PayPal introduced a new piece of hardware that would let customers pay for items without taking out their phones, similar to how Square's merchant app works. Now, it's taken another page out of its competitor's book -- the PayPal app will generate a payment QR code that any business with a scanner or PIN code machine can accept. The company, which announced the feature Tuesday, plans to roll it out globally early next year. Don Kingsborough, VP of Retail and Prepaid Products, said it's something PayPal has "researched for a long time," and he believes it's the fastest way to get consumers to adopt mobile payment technology. Conveniently, Square's partnership with coffee giant Starbucks has already taught early adopter customers how to make a payment with a QR code. "They've been to a Starbucks and they've seen how it works...so many people have been habituated to this action already," he said. PayPal's goals go beyond one chain. The company has been testing the feature in Australia and Kingsborough said the codes will be as easy for merchants to adopt as scanning coupons. There are already "millions" of barcode scanners and more than 40 million payment PIN pads in stores around the world, according to PayPal. When a customer checks into a store with the PayPal app, the app will generate a QR code that acts as an individual signature. Merchants can scan the code with a scanner and the payment will go through. If the merchant doesn't have a scanner, there will also be a 4-digit payment code that customers can enter into a PIN pad instead. Kingsborough said the process is "highly secure," because the codes expire. "If you went next door 30 seconds later, you would get a different four-digit code," he said. Related stories Samsung device owners can pay via PayPal for apps, services Credit card companies eye new global payment standard eBay to acquire global payment provider Braintree The process lets PayPal offer merchants a way to take mobile payments without investing in new hardware, which in turn gives customers more shopping options. It's something the company has been racing to achieve. So far, it's done this through partnerships with big retail chains and other retail platforms like Eat24 and NCR. Combined with the recently unveiled Beacon -- a piece of hardware that automatically detects a customer's PayPal mobile app -- the company is trying to cover all its bases in an attempt to grow its app's userbase. "These are the building blocks that allow you to build commerce at speed that consumers want to adopt and the way that they naturally progress, and the way that they want to use their mobile phones," Kingsborough.

The online payments company wants you to use its mobile payment app at any retail store, so it takes a page out of Square's book and uses a generated code that is acceptable just about everywhere. October 8, 2013 5:00 AM PDT (Credit: PayPal) Last month, PayPal introduced a new piece of hardware that would let customers pay for items without taking out their phones, similar to how Square's merchant app works. Now, it's taken another page out of its competitor's book -- the PayPal app will generate a payment QR code that any business with a scanner or PIN code machine can accept. The company, which announced the feature Tuesday, plans to roll it out globally early next year. Don Kingsborough, VP of Retail and Prepaid Products, said it's something PayPal has "researched for a long time," and he believes it's the fastest way to get consumers to adopt mobile payment technology. Conveniently, Square's partnership with coffee giant Starbucks has already taught early adopter customers how to make a payment with a QR code. "They've been to a Starbucks and they've seen how it works...so many people have been habituated to this action already," he said. PayPal's goals go beyond one chain. The company has been testing the feature in Australia and Kingsborough said the codes will be as easy for merchants to adopt as scanning coupons. There are already "millions" of barcode scanners and more than 40 million payment PIN pads in stores around the world, according to PayPal. When a customer checks into a store with the PayPal app, the app will generate a QR code that acts as an individual signature. Merchants can scan the code with a scanner and the payment will go through. If the merchant doesn't have a scanner, there will also be a 4-digit payment code that customers can enter into a PIN pad instead. Kingsborough said the process is "highly secure," because the codes expire. "If you went next door 30 seconds later, you would get a different four-digit code," he said. Related stories Samsung device owners can pay via PayPal for apps, services Credit card companies eye new global payment standard eBay to acquire global payment provider Braintree The process lets PayPal offer merchants a way to take mobile payments without investing in new hardware, which in turn gives customers more shopping options. It's something the company has been racing to achieve. So far, it's done this through partnerships with big retail chains and other retail platforms like Eat24 and NCR. Combined with the recently unveiled Beacon -- a piece of hardware that automatically detects a customer's PayPal mobile app -- the company is trying to cover all its bases in an attempt to grow its app's userbase. "These are the building blocks that allow you to build commerce at speed that consumers want to adopt and the way that they naturally progress, and the way that they want to use their mobile phones," Kingsborough.

Posted by : Unknown Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The online payments company wants you to use its mobile payment app at any retail store, so it takes a page out of Square's book and uses a generated code that is acceptable just about everywhere.

October 8, 2013 5:00 AM PDT

(Credit: PayPal)

Last month, PayPal introduced a new piece of hardware that would let customers pay for items without taking out their phones, similar to how Square's merchant app works. Now, it's taken another page out of its competitor's book -- the PayPal app will generate a payment QR code that any business with a scanner or PIN code machine can accept.

The company, which announced the feature Tuesday, plans to roll it out globally early next year.

Don Kingsborough, VP of Retail and Prepaid Products, said it's something PayPal has "researched for a long time," and he believes it's the fastest way to get consumers to adopt mobile payment technology. Conveniently, Square's partnership with coffee giant Starbucks has already taught early adopter customers how to make a payment with a QR code.

"They've been to a Starbucks and they've seen how it works...so many people have been habituated to this action already," he said.

PayPal's goals go beyond one chain. The company has been testing the feature in Australia and Kingsborough said the codes will be as easy for merchants to adopt as scanning coupons. There are already "millions" of barcode scanners and more than 40 million payment PIN pads in stores around the world, according to PayPal.

When a customer checks into a store with the PayPal app, the app will generate a QR code that acts as an individual signature. Merchants can scan the code with a scanner and the payment will go through. If the merchant doesn't have a scanner, there will also be a 4-digit payment code that customers can enter into a PIN pad instead.

Kingsborough said the process is "highly secure," because the codes expire.

"If you went next door 30 seconds later, you would get a different four-digit code," he said.