Paypal starts up NFC-based Android payments
updated 02:55 pm EDT, Wed July 13, 2011
Paypal demonstrates NFC payments on Nexus S
PayPal at the the Mobile Beat 2011 conference in San Francisco Wednesday showed off its first Near Field Communications (NFC) widget for Android-powered devices. During a demonstration, funds were transferred simply by running the widget and tapping two Nexus S phones together. The new PayPal NFC widget lets users send or receive money. Holding phones together until they buzz, then entering a PayPal password or mobile PIN is all that's required to complete the transfer.
PayPal is one of the largest non-bank wireless payment companies, and has relied on apps for mobile payments.
The payments thus far work only on the Nexus S phone. Once more phones launch, the widget won't require any specific modifications, as Google offers the same peer-to-peer NFC feature in its development kit. It uses an encrypted token between the devices and not the NFC secure element used to store secure credit card information.
The widget is expected to launch later this summer. [via VentureBeat]
