PayPal to add NFC payments to Android app

An upcoming version of PayPal’s Android app is to bring with it NFC payments capability, the online payment giant has announced at Mobile World Congress. 18 million consumers have also opted in to use the company’s One Touch mobile payment solution since its launch in August 2014, PayPal adds, which is now being rolled out to an additional 120 markets, taking the total to 143 territories.

Dan Schulman, CEO at PayPal
PAYPAL: CEO Dan Schulman

The company has in the past taken an anti-NFC stance, though then-president David Marcus revealed in April 2014 that the company was looking again at NFC as one of “three technologies that might truly change the retail experience as we know it.” PayPal began piloting NFC in April last year when it reported a 40% growth in mobile payments.

“An upcoming version of the app will support NFC starting in the US and Australia later this year,” PayPal says. “Android users will be able to simply tap and pay with their PayPal app at nearly any location that accepts contactless payments in the US and Australia.”

The announcement follows PayPal’s partnership with Vodafone to allow Vodafone Wallet users across Europe to make NFC payments with their mobile phone.

“PayPal is also working with leading telecom providers in Mexico and Brazil — Telcel and Claro — on their digital wallets to help their more than 140 million active users manage and make everyday spend purchases via mobile devices,” PayPal adds.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to transform commerce and financial services and mobile is at the center of that evolution,” says Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal. “We are committed to giving people flexibility and choice in the ways they move and manage their money.”

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