M-payment: New PayPal Pilots in Singapore’s Subway
- PayPal announces new pilot tests to trial 2D barcodes-based shopping and payment solutions relying on Smartphones and smart posters in Singapore’s subway stations.
- The solution called Shop and Pay On-the-Go is presented as fast and easy to use. Singapore commuters can now test it in 15 metro stations.
- First, they scan the product’s 2D code with their phone, then, make their payment through entering their PayPal account or bank card information directly on the mobile device. Once this process complete they receive a confirmation to be presented in-store or upon delivery.
- The solution first concerned Valentine Day-related promotional offers from eight PayPal partners.
- In June 2011, a concept virtual store had been set up in South Korean subways by the retailer HomePlus, subsidiary of Tesco. Customers were invited to scan products’ 2D barcodes with their Smartphone to order items displayed on the posters which represented the store’s shelves. They were further on redirected to the retailer’s e-payment page.
- These past months have been marked by several initiatives by PayPal, showing a strategy relying for instance on its PayPal InStore product or on PayPal Wallet tested in January. The concept of interactive showcase presented in December 2011 may also be mentioned (see previous Insights).
- With Shop and Pay On-the-Go, PayPal confirms its investment in alternative payment solutions linking physical media and virtual tools and asserts its commitment to a multi-media approach.
- Finally, PayPal has also been selected by the Australian specialist News Ticketing to be part of its proposed payment options.