Paypal moves 'towards a wallet-less high street' with photo verification payments
Paypal has taken another ‘step towards a wallet-less high street’ by trialling a payment system that recognises customers by only their first name and profile picture on Paypal.
The trial of 12 retailers in Richmond-upon-Thames sees customers paying for items using just the Paypal app and their profile picture. The app, which is available on iOS, Windows OS and Android, pinpoints local stores using the Paypal system. Customers then check in to the required retailer their name and photo then appears on the shop’s payment system and the retailer can charge them for any purchases by clicking on their image. Once paid an alert is sent to the customer’s phone as well as Paypal’s traditional email receipt.
Currently thousands of retailers in the US, Australia and APAC regions use the ‘check in to pay’ system and though no high street retailers have announced a decision to use the system Paypal estimates more than 2,000 locations will be able to use the app by the end of the year.
Users’ payments can also be linked to bank accounts, credit or debit cards meaning that funds do not need to be added to a Paypal account.
Head of retail services at PayPal Rob Harper added: “This is another step on the journey towards a wallet-less high street ... (with people paying) using their phone or tablet. We predict that by 2016 this will become a reality.”
Micke Paqvalén, CEO and founder of Kiosked said the trail is showcases another way in which “the retail journey is going to become wildly different over the next few years”.
Paqvalén, commented: “Images hold the key to making shopping faster and easier and in our ‘one-click culture’, this will be invaluable to shoppers. Coupled with mobile ‘check-in’ technology, retailers will be able to meet the needs of hyper connected customers with visual content that is highly relevant but non-intrusive.”