Subscribe Via RSSPayPal Here and Contactless Cards Could Make Cash Obsolete
Thanks to PayPal Here, Shoppers at Covent Garden’s Apple Market in London are now able to pay by card with all stall holders in the run up to Christmas. PayPal say that it’s the first time in the market’s 800-year history that traders have been able to accept digital payments from shoppers.
PayPal is predicting that cash could become redundant within just a few years thanks to apps such as PayPal Here, Bitcoin wallets and contactless cards. As a result of these technologies people will no longer need to carry real money as everything from the vegetables on your local market stall to your window cleaner to your taxi fare and bus tickets will all be payable by anyone carrying an iPhone, Android, iPad type device or card.
What is PayPal Here?
PayPal Here is a mobile payment solution that includes a free app and a thumb-sized card reader for your iPhone, Android or iPad device. PayPal Here lets anyone with the app and reader securely accept multiple forms of payment anytime, anywhere, this includes credit cards, debit cards, checks, invoicing, and PayPal payments.
Currently, PayPal Here is available for small business owners who need a simple way to accept payments on-the-go or as a point of sale solution in their retail store. So it sound ideal for small business owners such a stall holders, window cleaner, taxies, mobile shops as well as retail stores, etc.
How Much Does PayPal Here Cost?
The card reader is free. You are charged only 2.7% per swipe transaction and no hidden fees. (US rates only.)
How Can PayPal Here be Used
With the roll-out of PayPals mobile phone-based smart payment system, shoppers can download a PayPal app to their smartphone which can be pared with the payment system of participating retailers, from cafes and bakers to market stalls.
This enables shoppers to authorise payments using their smart phone, just like any internet purchases, with the money being immediately transferred to the trader. No fuss, no hassle.
With the payment sent, the retailer gets a ‘payment confirmed’ message on their own smartphone or tablet plus a picture of the customer. The aim of the picture is to increase system security.
PayPal claims the system can help small businesses, which may be missing out on up to £800 million worth of sales every year by not taking card payments.
Do You Carry Over £20 in Cash?
According to PayPal, most consumers do not carry more than £20 in cash on them and even then most people rarely use cash on a day to day basis, relying on debit and credit cards for all their purchases.
The new PayPal smartphone app adds another alternative to folding money and coins and enables retailers who have not taken card payments in the past, such as market traders, now have a new way to enable customers to pay.
- Narik Patel, PayPal’s director of mobile merchant services, said: ‘We know from our research that shoppers don’t usually carry more than £20 these days, so it’s great to see that these traders will never miss a sale again because a customer has to dash off to get cash.’ … ‘This is another step on the journey towards a wallet-less high street, where customers will be able to leave their wallet or purse at home and pay using their phone or tablet. We predict that by 2016 this will become a reality.’
- The firm’s PR director, Rob Skinner, added: ‘We believe that is because using a mobile to pay for things will be so commonplace that people will not feel the need to carry cash.’ … ‘We are not saying that no-one will use money or plastic cards, only that it will be possible to live day to day without them.’
London Underground Ticket Offices to Close
Boris Johnson recently announced that hundreds of London Underground ticket offices will close next year. People are being encouraged to use the new generation of contactless debit and credit cards that can be swiped across ticket barrier terminals.
On the high street, retailers from coffee shops to newsagents now accept the contactless cards, which do not require users to put in a four digit PIN, for small value purchases.
PayPal Here App Launched at London’s Covent Garden Market
The new PayPal Here app and smartphone system, which can authorise a payment with or without a debit card, was launched at London’s Covent Garden market in London on 12 December 2013.
Artist Adam Regester, who sells his work at Covent Garden, has been using the system on a trial basis for a few weeks. He said: ‘For as long as I can remember, we’ve always relied on customers paying with cash or perhaps the odd cheque. But now I’ve lost count of how many times people ask to pay by card or say they’ll just pop to the cash point but never come back.’ … ‘Giving our customers more options to pay and taking cards solves the problem, which is especially crucial in the run-up to Christmas. Even within these first few weeks, I’ve seen an increase in sales.’
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