PayPal on Android gets NFC support

PayPal on Android got an update that enabled NFC support for its users. With the app, users can send money as a gift to friends or even split a dinner bill with friends via their phones. You can snap a photo of a cheque (that someone writes to you) to add money directly via the app. You can check your balance, withdraw money or view past transactions anytime with the app. You can also request money with an NFC-enabled phone. These features are free of cost in the United States, only. You have to use a bank account or PayPal balance to perform these transactions. What the services haven’t included so far are a consumer to seller transaction. However, in the US only, you can use the app to locate a seller that will accept NFC via PayPal.

Screenshots of PayPal for Android

2012 is slated to be the year of Android smartphones with NFC support. According to ReadWriteWeb, PayPal has been anti-NFC, until now. The company has said that NFC will not be a hard service to implement for when it gains traction. One of the more interesting ways we’ve seen NFC in use is Nokia’s use of it with the game Angry Birds. They called it “Angry Birds Free With Magic” and NFC-enabled Nokia smartphones sort of had a ‘monopoly’ on the game because further levels could only be unlocked by touching NFC-enabled Nokia phones with a friend. NFC services for PayPal still retain their original service of peer-to-peer payments. This new addition does not add another segment to their business, at all.

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