PayPal has just launched an upgraded iPhone application that adds new features and includes a facelift that’s meant to help instill a greater sense of security. And it also brings with it big news for Bump Technologies, the startup that lets you exchange information simply by tapping smartphones together: Bump is now prominently featured in the PayPal iPhone application as a quick way to initiate transactions. You can download the free app here.
PayPal has offered a free application for the iPhone ever since the App Store launched in mid-2008, and it has gradually been improving over time. Today’s release brings a handful of significant new features. First, it now allows you to send a money request to your contacts (it’s essentially a bill). Second, you can now withdraw money out of your PayPal account and deposit it into your bank account. And there’s the Bump integration, which allows you to exchange money simply by tapping two iPhones together and entering the amount of the transaction — finally, an easy way to collect money from those friends who always seem to be out of cash.
The PayPal app includes a few more minor new features. There’s now an integrated tip calculator and bill splitter, as well as a reminder function that alerts you when you need to send or withdraw money. And the application now integrates the ‘PayPal For Kids’ program, which allows kids and teenagers to access a PayPal sub-account that’s linked to their parent’s.
PayPal’s iPhone app is only one component of the company’s mobile strategy. Last spring it partnered with RIM for the launch of the BlackBerry App World store, and it has also integrated with eBay’s mobile application. iPhone developers can easily integrate PayPal functionality using a PayPal library. And aside from the iPhone app, it offers native PayPal applications for Android and RIM phones as well (the company plans to brings these apps up to speed with the new iPhone release over the next few months).
This is also obviously very big news for Bump, which is still a young startup (the company took part in Y Combinator and was funded by Sequoia last fall). Bump and PayPal declined to disclose the details of the partnership.
Where is the add on to swipe and accept credit cards?
Err, I think that’s what you called, “SquareUp” App.
One thing that I only wish for this paypal app is its security… the last thing a user would like to happen is to find someone sniffing his credit card details without being aware.
This is going to be a FAIL. I see a new way of people getting mugged lol
Downloaded. Awesome update! Bump is killer feature. Goodbye cash
That’s the stuff I’m talking about. This is what we need.
Oddly enough, this is pretty much exactly the app idea that I submitted to PayPal’s “Developer Challenge”.
Chances are good I forfeited my soul by submitting the idea anyway.
so whats the point of square?
Yes, this is going to avalanche. No need for anything but your phone.
Merchants will just need bump on the register.
Wow.
Not good for Square.
Well, that may be the case when/if the Paypal + Bump app is cross platform. So, I can bump my iPhone to your Blackberry Bold, for example, and exchange funds. Soon enough we’ll all have smartphones so this has got to become cross-platform.
(Ignoring for the moment that in many cases we’ll all still want to review the transaction, sign for legal reasons, etc.)
Seems like a much better alternative to Square:- Paypal can link to a Credit Card, no dongle required and just a bump to securely transfer cash.
No wonder my kids keep bumping our iPhones together!
i am not going to use it. because my kids
If you remember, PayPal was originally a service that let people beam money to each other through their Palm Pilots. Nice to see them return to their roots with the help of Bump!
funny, this is what Paypal originally set out to do back in 98 (only with PDAs).
Mobile to Mobile transfers was the idea for the original PayPal, except using Palm Pilots and not iPhones. This is a natural progression for each company, although I don’t see this being widely used.
Square is still fine, VeriFone is ever safer.
I am so going to love this!
Cool ! Cash is dead.
The video about the app is quite funny
This is exactly in line with PayPal’s original mission. Peer-to-peer transfers is their home run space, but I’m waiting to see them really innovate against larger B2C payments – i.e. bill pay. PayPal oddly has stayed away from giants like CheckFree (now Fiserv), where real innovation is needed.
Electronic bill payment and presentment is in real need of innovation, and PayPal has the consumer pull to innovate against payment. As a tangent, presentment is also in need of innovation – to learn more about we are doing at Zodah to fix this, go to http://zodah.com to sign up for an invite to our beta.
Any one knows if there’s something similar from Paypal for Androiders’?
I can’t find anything in the market place.
PayPal does have a app for android. However some of these feature will be rolled out in the coming months for other platforms
PayPal Mobile
There’s such distrust of Paypal. I don’t see how this is going to work (in the mainstream) unless they clean up their act *tremendously*.
Paypal is like putting your money in bank where Hugo Chavez is the CEO.
If you don’t park actual cash in there, then there is no problem… Every paypal user should be using credit cards anyways, or at least their debit number to pay for stuff… Problem solved
congrats jake and team! Bump deserves all this!
Bump Technologies builds mobile applications and APIs that allow two smartphones to identify one another and connect by simply being bumped together.
I can’t wait to have this installed.
Hi there !
When I try to work with PayPal at the first time, I’m going to be frustrating about how PayPal takes fees.
I spend more and more times to try understand how this all staff working…..
The are more then ten books like “PayPal for dummers” on Amazon, I read it and nothing changed. May be I’m not very care reader. But I only try to understand how much money are all this hidden fees: Merchant rates, currency conversion, transaction fixed fees, transaction amount fees,…. ugh!….
In Appstore I found great apps named PayPal Transaction Fee PRO Calculator (may be too long as for me :).
But it is extremely easy, fast and correct for my payments in USA shopping, eBay items, and some international staff.
Just look in AppStore http://bit.ly/aoClNB. Native PayPal application are there https://www.paypal-labs.com/iphone/
Great idea and execution, but in some sense its pointless.
Can’t accept credit cards (there goes your Square arguments again)! Works only with peeps that run PayPal. That’s not everyone. Nice try though guys.
Still…they are focusing in the wrong area. Why don’t they have a mobile web optimized landing page for people to enter in login and or information when I send them there. (as in I really will). Google and Paypal still are completely deficient in this arena. For small vendors we rely on such services, so how will mobile transactions ever take off if you can’t buy a shirt on the fly from Gap or specialty chocolate from a small business who is so savvy?
I’m very disappointed in this release. At the very least I expected the ability to switch between paypal accounts (I have several for business and home use). Yes, some welcome functions like request payment and transfer to bank, but to miss multiple accounts is a big FAIL IMHO.
Not in the European stores yet, which is weird as it is localized for a dozen European languages.
i don’t have an iPhone but I have an iPod Touch. Can I use this app on my iPod Touch? I feel comfortable and very safe using my iPod paying stuff via Paypal rather than computer. Computers are vulnerable to virus and keyloggers and so dangerous if you have an important account like Paypal.
good to know it
Mobile to Mobile transfers was the idea for the original PayPal, except using Palm Pilots and not iPhones. This is a natural progression for each company, although I don't see this being widely used.