Google Adds PayPal to Google Play App Store

Google now allows Android device users to fund app purchases with a PayPal account, but hasn't gone so far as to enable the rival payment method as a funding source for all Google Wallet purchases.

Google Play is linked to Google Wallet,  Google's online and mobile payment system. Users can fund Google Wallet purchases by linking a credit card or bank account; on Google Play, they can also add purchases to a carrier's bill.

Initially, consumers in 12 countries making purchases through Google Wallet can use PayPal for apps and media, a move Google says should help it continue momentum it enjoys in international sales. Google does not allow shoppers to use PayPal to purchase physical items on Google Play or to fund other Google Wallet purchases.

PayPal becomes an option for those in the U.S., Germany, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the U.K., according to a May 15 Android Developers Blog post by Ibrahim Elbouchikhi, Google Play Product Manager.

Google also expanded carrier billing for Google Play purchases in seven more countries, for a total of 24. Nearly half of all Google Play users now have the carrier billing option available, Elbouchikhi writes.

PayPal was rumored to be a payment option for Google's phones as far back as 2010, when it already supported payments on Apple and Blackberry devices.

Recently, PayPal also became a payment option for the Samsung Apps and Samsung Hub digital content stores, as well as the Sony PlayStation 4's digital store.