PayPal is expanding the ways a smartphone's camera can be used to facilitate payments within its apps.
An update this week update to PayPal's app for the iPhone allows consumers to link a credit or debit card to their PayPal account by taking a picture of the card using the PayPal app. The update also adds features to PayPal Local, which allows consumers to locate and spend money with nearby merchants that accept payments from PayPal accounts.
PayPal already uses the smartphone's camera as part of Here, its card-acceptance app for merchants. With the Here app, PayPal has placed more emphasis a clip-on reader that allows merchants to accept payments from swiped cards. However, the Here app was built with technology from Lumber Labs' Card.io to also allow it to read cards by viewing them through the phone's camera.
The update to Local allows consumers to manage their payment preferences from within the app. It also improves the experience of "checking in" with the merchant. This process alerts the merchant that a PayPal user is in the store.
