PayPal today announced its Beacon payment system, a new technology that lets you make purchases at your favorite stores via Bluetooth 4.0, all without having to pull out your wallet or phone.
To use the new Beacon system, the store you’re visiting will need to enable it by installing a simple USB dongle. You will need a PayPal account, a Bluetooth-enabled phone with an updated PayPal app and enough money socked away to pay for what you want. Just tell the cashier you’re going to pay with PayPal and they’ll do the rest.
“Just walk in a store, and, like magic, when you’re ready to pay, money is transferred securely. No wallet. No card. Nothing to do. Not even touching your phone,” explains PayPal President David Marcus.
With any mobile payment system, security is a huge concern. To that end, PayPal requires you pick and choose which stores you’d like to enable automatic payments for, and which you’d like to be prompted on your phone to complete the transaction for. No information is transmitted to PayPal unless you use Beacon to complete a purchase, so you don’t need to worry about the company tracking you everywhere you go.
PayPal plans to launch Beacon early next year. To learn more about the new payment system, visit the PayPal website.
