PayPal Mobile Launching with Cell Phone Text Payments
It did not take long, but the buzz about text message cell phone to cell phone payment systems that started with the launch of TextPayMe.com has lit the fire under PayPal’s butts to get their own version together and running.
Now PayPal, which is part of the eBay empire that is also part owner of Craigslist, is launching their system which will compete directly with TextPayMe who ironically has this marketing message on their homepage : ” Use TextPayMe to buy and sell on Craigslist.”
PayPal Mobile will be launched in the United States, Canada and the UK according to PayPal, with plans to expand to other global markets where PayPal=money and mobiles=life.
Eric Auchard of Reuters reports :
“While designed to make online payments more convenient for the nearly one hundred million existing PayPal users, the move to offer a mobile payment service holds out the prospect of reaching vast markets in the developing world where phones, rather than computers, are the main way to connect to the Internet.
PayPal Mobile will offer customers two options for transferring funds, be it for gifts or purchases, by phone to nearly anyone they choose, whether individuals or retailers.
Payments can be sent over a phone via an SMS or by calling an automated customer service system and using voice commands to transmit funds, according to PayPal’s site.”
Sushubh Mittal adds…
“EBay has said in a statement that this new service would enable the users to make person-to-person payments, buy items, and donate to charities using mobile devices. For example, users would be able to purchase CDs, DVDs, shoes and other items by sending product codes as text messages.
However, customers would have to first enable this option in their PayPal backend and select a code to protect them against unauthorized users.”
Yikes, hopefully this won’t turn into a spam mobile phishing nightmare.
More from Macworld and the IDG News Service on PayPal Mobile.
