Users of Google Pay can now use PayPal to pay their bills and purchases

Google Pay users who add their PayPal details to their Google Pay accounts will now be able to pay their bills and purchases using PayPal. The integration will cover any app such such as Gmail, YouTube, or Google Store.

Peer-to-peer transfers will also be possible. The integration is a continuation of a process that reaches back as far as 2014 when payment by PayPal was an option in Google Play. Google has also partnered with other payment companies such as Braintree, Stripe, and even Visa and Mastercard.

PayPal

PayPal Holdings Inc. is an US-based company with headquarters in San Jose California. It operates a worldwide online payment system. It supports online money transfers and serves as an alternative to traditional checks and money orders.

PayPal's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California. The company serves to make payments for vendors, auction sites such as eBay and other commercial outlets. It charges a small fee for its services.

PayPal was once owned by eBay which announced plans to spin it off and it became an independent company on July 15th 2015. PayPal can still be used to make payments for eBay transactions.

Google Pay

Now Google Pay, but formerly called Pay with Google and Android Pay, is a digital wallet platform as well as an online payment system. It powers in-app and tap-to-pay purchases made on mobile devices. Payments can be made with Android phones, tablets, or watches. Android Pay and Google Wallet were unified into a single system creating the present Google Pay.

Google Pay has a new application programming interface (API) that allows merchants to add the Google Pay service to websites, apps, Stripe, and other. Any cards on file at Google Play can also be used. There are also new supports for boarding passes and ticket events as of this month.

Both Google and PayPal benefit from the new relationship

Given that PayPal can be used to pay on Google sites Paypal users are likely to stay on the site. It gives users one more option for users to pay. Paypal users will also be able to use Paypal on many more sites. This will translate into more revenue for PayPal.

Users are now comfortable with paying online

Not too long ago the challenge for those offering online payments was to convince customers that it was safe to pay online. However, now most people are used to making online payments. As a recent Techcrunch article puts it: "The problem is one of trying to capture and keep users’ attention: there are potentially now too many payment options, and too many places for us to visit too easily. The struggle for app publishers, platform owners, and others now is to keep people engaged in your product, rather than migrating elsewhere, which could lead to people abandoning their purchases and also leaving your service for another one."

Amazon is successful in the emerging battle for customers in that it provides a very seamless and rapid way to browse and buy things. If you are a Prime subscriber things are even better. Google and PayPal along with others are knitting their services together to attract the attention of users and provide services that users are demanding.

The process of integrating things together is not always that easy. Bill Ready of Paypal said: “We are always looking for ways to improve the experience and to make payments even more seamless and secure for our customers wherever they want to pay. After the successful launch with Android Pay last year, which built on our existing integration with Google Play, our teams came together to enable this new experience, which will allow customers in the U.S. who add PayPal to any one of Google’s services to be able to pay across the Google ecosystem, anywhere that PayPal is offered as a payment method, with only minimal setup.”

Previously published in Digital Journal

You can now send money to your friends through Facebook, using Paypal

Facebook has for some time enabled users to send money to friends on Facebook through a tool inside their Messenger that connects to a credit or debit card but the service will become even more convenient as PayPal can now be used to make payments.

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As far back as November 2011 there have been methods to send money through Facebook. However in 2015, payment using credit or debit cards was made quite simple. Within Messenger one would just hit the "$" icon enter the appropriate amount and hit pay. The money would be transferred to the designated recipient immediately although it could take a couple of days so show up in their bank account. A detailed account of the process can be found here.

Before the feature can be used, a debit or credit count must be added to the accounts of both senders and recipients. Once you have a credit card entered you must create a PIN number that you will enter every time you send money. IPhone and iPad users can enable Touch ID for added security. The connection between your device and Facebook servers is encrypted along with any financial details stored in the app. Its access may be limited to Android and IOS devices.

A recent article describes the process used:You can access the feature the same way you'd pay with a card. Simply tap the blue plus icon and then tap the green Payments button to bring up the two existing options.If you'd previously set up the feature to pay using your card, just tap the Change button and choose PayPal to connect your account with Messenger. The feature is now live on iOS and will soon be available on Android. Unfortunately, you can only use it if you're in the US -- everyone else will just have to find other ways to spend their PayPal balance.

Facebook has provided users with suggestions as to how they can keep their transactions safe and secure. The appended video shows how money is sent using credit and debit cards linked to Messenger.