Overview of The New App
The new PayPal application is completely revamped. Some love it, and some hate it. No features from the previous version were removed. You can still transfer funds, accept money, check out your account activity, and more. The new application now has support for PayPal Here and the option to have a profile photo for added personalization. One great feature that I can do with my USA iPhone application is the ability to add funds from a check just by taking a photo of it and adding in a couple of information. Secondly, a new feature added was the ability to find merchants who support PayPal Here, essentially allowing you to pay for that cup of coffee or that nice, tasty pastry with your PayPal funds.
More on PayPal Here
A bit more on PayPal Here, the service works by having a receiver inserted to the headphone jack of an iOS device. From there, when a customer would like to pay, all they have to do is have their card swiped with the PayPal Here receiver. From there, if the application is activated, the balance will be shown on the screen. The merchant can create a sort of virtual receipt by adding what and how much the customer is paying for. The merchant can apply any discounts that are available according to the store’s discretion. PayPal Here has options for using cards and PayPal balances. However, as mentioned before, you can apply funds with checks by taking the photo of the check. For that reason, checks are supported with PayPal Here as well. PayPal Here also understands that other currencies exist too. If you do things like splitting payment, the merchant can select cash along with your PayPal/Card/Check. However, with this new addition to PayPal, the new service PayPal Here has a lot of competition.
How Does PayPal Here Compete?
At the moment, along with PayPal Here, there is also Square, VeriFone and Intuit in the ballpark. In terms of availability, PayPal Here will not be an iOS only player. Android is poised to be another supported system with PayPal Here. All other payment systems support iOS and Android as well, aside from VeriFone who’s sans an Android equivalent. As we know, PayPal Here’s largest competitor will definitely be Square. When I think of mobile payment, Square comes to the mind of many individuals, including mine. When we look at safety however, PayPal and the other competitors offer the well-rounded safety that Square seems to lack. All in all, if you are in need of a mobile payment service right at this second, you won’t find it in PayPal Here. The service isn’t even available yet, and at the moment we can’t even get a date of release. Square will be the likely best choice.
Conclusion
In terms of being able to keep all of your money, none of the services will beat the ancient practice of physically receiving money. Everyone charges some transaction fee; it keeps them from toppling and keeps Square from charging for those free receivers. However, despite PayPal offering much less fees upfront, you must remember that PayPal Here is still a PayPal centered application service, your money still stays in the PayPal account until you transfer to your bank account, which can take at least two days. Processing an order on Friday, don’t expect to have it in your hands until at least Tuesday. If you are a heavy earner, more restrictions apply once you make a grand in sales. Despite this, PayPal Here getting into the mobile payment business outside the web will be great for the continued growth of PayPal and the industry for the future.
