It was around this time last year that PayPal launched its text-based mobile payment service. Eh, cool, but text-to-buy or ’send money by phone’ is pretty far from a mobile web shopping experience. Now, word is out that PayPal is working hard on its mobile web based buying service, which is still in beta, but will be rolled out over the coming months.
De Gardener writes that PayPal’s mobile web service called Mobile Checkout will be similar to the online shopping experience with PayPal, and is targeted for people who are browsing and trying to buy stuff on mobile web sites. He shows some images and more detailed info.
PayPal already advertises the mobile browsing service on its site and says:
“With a web-enabled phone, you can go to your favorite site, buy, and check out easily with PayPal. You’ll log on and securely confirm payment just like you do on a computer. Look for it on select merchant sites.”
We spoke with a source close to the situation who says that the mobile web PayPal service is still in testing mode but will be more widely available in a couple months. At launch time the service will be available and free to anyone who’s phone has access to the mobile web.
Why is this important? Mobile payments (using your phone to buy stuff) in the U.S. is a much discussed topic but with little to show for it. Consumers are just getting used to paying for goods online, and mobile payments, at least in the US seem like a bit of a stretch. Maybe a web-based experience taken to the mobile environment can push this along.
Update: We heard PayPal PR is forwarding around our post to interested journalists and adding some extra info along with it — that PayPal Mobile Checkout users will be able to type in a URL on your mobile phone, pick the item to buy, and pay for the item in two steps. And here’s a short article that the WSJ just put up. So there you go.
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12:44 PM PT
[...] (link) (GigaOM) [...]
7 comments so far
11:54 AM PT
It’s hard to pry my smartphones away from me, and I use them for everything but buying things online. I’m struggling to find a situation where I’d be purchasing something via my phones. Anyone have an idea?
12:08 PM PT
Nick, what comes immediately to mind is an auction (eBay or the like) where the close time is a time where the only connection you have is mobile. I guess you could just lug a laptop everywhere, but I’d rather use a phone.
2:05 PM PT
This will be h-u-g-e in south america and asia where it’s quite common to purchase products and send payments via mobile which brings us to the question, is this for the US only? Another obvious angle for this program: payment or micro-payment method for mobile social network services.
2:21 PM PT
Be at a party in your friend´s beach house and buy domino´s pizza even if your wallet is empty.
4:10 PM PT
Last minute web purchases and auction bids are good examples - as long as they are easy to do and secure. What really makes it interesting, though, is also using your mobile phone as a wallet for point of presence purchases (buying tickets, a Coke, etc.) ABI Research expects by 2011 NFC wallet phones will comprise about 30 percent of the global cell phone market – about 450 million phones.
7:50 PM PT
Reminds me of PayPal’s first business plan and at-bat, which was limited to the Palm platform. Pay-by-phone will take off in the US, some year, and so will Blue tooth. Or so I’ve been preaching for six or seven years.
Best,
jim Forbes
8:54 PM PT
Another oportunity for Paypal to freeze your account and play with your money in the meanwhile. this is not spam, just check at (link) and see how this company threat their users.