PayPal Has A New Retail Trick Up Its Sleeve

PayPal Has A New Retail Trick Up Its Sleeve 

PayPal is one of the dominant names when you're talking about mobile payments. They recently introduced a brand-new system that's going to change how you interact with the retail environment. It's a small USB device (pictured right) called Beacon, and it enables customers to buy things from retail locations hands-free. If you're one such customer, you don't have to touch a wallet, a credit card, or any physical money at all to pay for your items.

By checking in to a store à la Foursquare (you can even configure the app check you into places automatically), that retailer has access to the funds in your PayPal account and you can pay for your items directly with that money. It's proximity-based, so you do have to be physically present at the store. The security check happens when the retailer is shown a picture of your face to make sure that you're who you say you are. With that confirmed, your total purchase is deducted from your PayPal account.

Your PayPal app does not need to be running to take advantage of Beacon, but your app's settings will need to be configured so that it can properly interact with the device.

The premise of strolling into a store, gathering your items, and walking out with little more than a glance at a cashier is a really compelling one. Bluetooth has previously freed up your hands during phone calls by way of wireless, but now it's being harnessed to free up your hands while shopping