New app lets you pay in-store with your PayPal account

by Laura Shannon on 30 May 2012  |  1 comment
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You can now pay in-store using your PayPal account thanks to this clever new app.

PayPal customers can now use their funds to pay for shopping on the high street with a new mobile phone app.

The online payments company has confirmed a deal with Coast, Oasis, Warehouse and Karen Millen to provide the service, rolling it out in 230 stores nationwide.

The PayPal inStore app is available for Android phones, as well as iPhones and iPads. When you want to pay for an item, the app generates a unique barcode and transaction number. This is scanned by the shop assistant and money is deducted from your PayPal account.

What’s more, even if you have no signal or Wi-Fi reception the app should still work.

Is it safe?

The app is protected with a unique PIN number and no personal or financial information is stored on your phone.

However, this is more relevant to cases where customers are buying and selling with people they don’t know, such as on eBay, when they would be more exposed to the threat of a scam, something we covered in Watch out for this eBay scam!. Using PayPal for transactions with reputable high street retailers should be far safer.

Why would I use this instead of cash and cards?

Using your phone can be a convenient way to pay, especially if you don’t have your wallet on you or if you’re trying to limit spending on credit cards. Chances are you will always have your mobile to hand.

As the app is password protected, some might consider this method safer than carrying cash and cards that could be easily stolen.

However, keeping a lot of money in your PayPal account for a long period of time, instead of in your bank account, probably isn’t the best idea. This is especially true if you regularly use the account to sell items on eBay. PayPal can deduct or temporarily hold money from your account if a buyer raises a dispute with the company and claims you never delivered the goods.

If you don’t want to lose money that way, it’s best to only keep money in the account for a short period of time before you go shopping.

More on mobiles:

Barclays launches Pingit mobile-to-mobile payments

O2 Wallet: send money to friends and shop using your mobile phone

Vodafone unveils 'mobile wallet'