Bill Hanifin
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If you have a smartphone and are willing to use the GPS functionality to identify yourself in proximity of a merchant location, you’re a good candidate for Paypal’s newest extension to its alternative payment system product line.
Being tested just in the UK for the moment, customers who check-in with merchants will become visible to the merchant, setting up an easy payment for a subsequent purchase. The product is heralded by some as a solution for small transaction purchases, but card security experts including ACI Worldwide’s Richard Sanders caution that security might be a concern should the app proliferate into high volume environments like grocery.
Paypal’s announcement is important as it signals further movement towards an open payment processing system, one that it freed in particular from proprietary card-swipe and pin-pad devices.
This is a debate that should be followed closely by marketers, as the go-to-market business model of category winners will shape the future of the customer purchase experience.
