As mobile commerce continues to grow at a blistering pace, PayPal has launched Mobile Express Checkout, an on-the-go extension of its existing Express Checkout offering that can streamline payment processes for online retailers. Mobile Express Checkout will arrive on the iPhone and Android 2.0 (and higher) devices from several retailers, including Nike and Buy.com, in the coming weeks.
Mobile payments are poised to reach $200 billion by 2012, according to Juniper Research. “We expect to close out 2010 with more than half a billion dollars in mobile payment volume and more than five million members regularly using PayPal from their mobile devices.” said Bill Zielke, Senior Director of Merchant Services at PayPal. “With more than 172 million smartphone users around the world, the mobile opportunity is hard to ignore.” PayPal’s parent, eBay Inc., already offers PayPal checkout in its mobile applications.
Jeff Wisot, Vice President of Marketing at Buy.com also weighed in on Mobile Express Checkout. “We’re seeing a huge opportunity in mobile commerce right now,” he said. “PayPal’s Mobile Express Checkout will allow us to enhance the convenient shopping experience for on-the-go customers.”
Among other things, Mobile Express Checkout will include:
- One-stop payment service that allows merchants to sell to millions of mobile shoppers;
- Quick deployment and integration for merchants;
- A seamless customer experience, which is especially important with smaller screens and keyboards–just a few clicks and customers are done;
- Strong fraud detection.
PayPal has continued to lead as a payment mechanism for mobile commerce over the past several years. Mobile PayPal transactions grew nearly six-fold from $25 million in 2008 to $141 million in 2009.