PayPal Adds New Retailers For In-Store Payments Product; Tests Order-Ahead Pickup At Jamba Juice

PayPal is announcing  today that seven new national retailers are using its in-store payments technology. Previously, PayPal had made a commitment to sign-up a total of 20 large national retailers by the end of 2012, and the company now has 23 retailers signed up to implement the eBay-owned company’s technology. And PayPal’s in-store payments offering is now being used in 18,000 brick and mortar stores nationwide.
With these in-store integrations, customers can either use a PIN code or a special PayPal credit card that can be swiped, in order to deduct the payment from their PayPal accounts. The solution is appealing to retailers, because it doesn’t require a significant investment in new technology, like replacing POS systems or installing some sort of NFC-based solution, for example.
Famous Footwear, Dollar General, Mapco Express, RadioShack, Spartan Stores and two additional partners are now using PayPal’s payments platform. These retailers join Abercrombie & Fitch, Advance Auto Parts, Aéropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Barnes & Noble, Foot Locker, Guitar Center, the Home Depot, Jamba Juice, JC Penney, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Nine West, Office Depot, Rooms To Go, Tiger Direct and Toys “R” Us.
PayPal’s Don Kingsborough says that PayPal’s in store offering has now expanded to grocery and gas stations, which are both important first steps in PayPal’s further growth in brick and mortar stores.
The payments company is also debuting a new ordering feature for Jamba Juice, which allows users to pre-pay via PayPal and order their smoothies or other food items ahead. After choosing the items you want to order, you can also choose your pick-up-time in store, and pay with PayPal right on your mobile device. When picking-up your beverage, you can bypass the line and cashier and get your smoothie right away.
PayPal has been testing a similar pilot with McDonald’s across 30 fast food stores in France allows purchasers to pre-order their Big Macs on the McDonald’s mobile app or online, pay with PayPal and then skip the line for pick-up. There’s a dedicated area where you can pick up your pre-ordered food. Similarly, with Jamba Juice, PayPal says that you’ll be able to skip the lines with this pick-up feature as well.
Emeryville is the first Jamba Juice location to include pre-order and pickup, with others to follow this year.

Credit : Tech Crunch

Social Network : PayPal Facebook app lets you send money and greetings to friends, only takes 2.9-percent cut of your 'free' e-card

Well, this certainly seems like a no-brainer for PayPal. The company just launched a Facebook app that lets you send money to anyone on your friends list, with the usual list of terms and conditions in tow. After logging into Facebook and authorizing the app, you'll be able to use PayPal to transfer funds to individuals that you're connected with (who also have PayPal accounts, of course), adding a layer of security to the notoriously fraud-laden online payment service.

Payments are free to send and receive, but only if they're funded using a bank account with both parties in the U.S. Want to use a credit or debit card instead? PayPal will collect 2.9 percent (either from the sender or recipient), with a 30-cent processing fee to boot. And if you're sending funds abroad, fees range from 0.5 to 3.9 percent, depending on a variety of factors. A rather comprehensive collection of e-cards helps soften the blow if a fee applies, and includes selections for just about every occasion. Fourth of July coming up? Let's top up that fireworks fund. So dig up those account and routing numbers and get ready to stick some virtual cash in a virtual card