Back in the early days of the internet, PayPal was a revolutionary step in online commerce, making secure payments possible (and easy) and earning Elon Musk his first big win. But for more than a decade, PayPal has, well, just kind of existed. It has always been really useful for making payments, especially to smaller websites and eBay retailers, but there hasn't been much else going for it. That's just changed, with the new PayPal app.
PayPal, out now for iOS and Android, is, to be sure, features a lot of the same services that some apps for banks and credit card companies have. That's a good thing, as it means PayPal is covering some of the important bases for modern electronic wallet services. But PayPal also offers a little bit more, and a lot of flexibility, which you won't get anywhere else right now.
Let's start with the basic features of the new PayPal app.
Shop
PayPal has a built-in Yelp-like list of local shops and restaurants that accept PayPal payments. They're listed by distance from your location with the address, making it easy to find places to use your new app. This is the first instance where the PayPal app is transforming how the payment system works. It's no longer about shopping online from your smartphone, but rather using the internet in your daily life - getting you off the couch, eBay shopping, and into your community.
From the "Shop" menu, you can order ahead of time and certain retailers will be marked with a little coupon icon, where you can get a better deal because you're using PayPal. So now making a to-go order at a local eatery is quick and easy, and picking a place to eat might be easier, too. If you're eating at a restaurant that supports PayPal, you can even pay at the table - a great feature if you're impatient about getting your check at the end of a meal.
Transfer
PayPal also has a "transfer funds" service, so your friend has no excuse for not paying you back for half the dinner. It works a lot like other person-to-person electronic funds transfer services, like those provided by big banks like Chase, but it payments and requests work even if the other person doesn't have PayPal.
Credit
PayPal is now offering a "Bill Me Later" option, which is basically their version of financing payments. Not everyone will qualify, but certain credit promotions such as "six months to pay on purchases of $99 or more" are available from PayPal partners.
Wallet - or PayPal Goes Meta With E-Payments
You might say to yourself, "Well, that sounds nice, but credit lines, promotions, coupons, person-to-person money transfers, and local ordering online are all things I can do with my various apps/bank/credit services. What's the big deal?"
The big deal is that, besides the nice, clean interface and smartly put-together functionality of the app, PayPal does those services using any number of your credit or debit cards, or bank accounts. It's the aggregator of all payment systems.
And the app has added functionality because you can quickly transfer between payment systems and manage them in PayPay's Wallet. You can even add a credit or debit card by snapping a photo of it. Check out an overview of the PayPal app here:
PayPal is definitely breaking out of the eBay funk with its new app and services (which include a lot of other little extras, like an automatic gratuity calculator for restaurants and bars). It'll be interesting to see what they do next. You can check out the new PayPal app for Android here and iOS here.