PayPal showcases NFC app

Online financial transactions giant PayPal has unveiled a mobile application that lets Android users exchange money by touching a pair of Google smartphones together, reports AFP.

The mobile application was revealed recently at Mobilebeat 2011 in San Francisco.

The software widget uses near-field communication (NFC) chips in Nexus S mobile phones powered by Android mobile operating systems.

The Register says at this point, the Nexus S is the only Android phone offering an NFC chip, but other manufacturers have promised to include such chips on future devices.

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt predicts that a third of all US retail stores will be able to accept NFC payments by the end of 2012.

The Inquirer notes that Laura Chambers, senior director of mobile for PayPal says: “We've said all along that consumer behaviour won't change unless we're able to offer an experience that's truly better than what's available today.

“We've been looking at NFC technology for a while and we saw a tremendous opportunity to combine the best of NFC and the best of PayPal.”