POS debut delayed by PayPal

Online payment service provider PayPal is expanding into the provision of point-of-sale payments services.

While PayPal organised launch publicity on Friday in several markets, including Australia, the service is not yet available nor is there any word on when it will be.

The new service, called PayPal Here, combines a small magnetic stripe that attaches to a smartphone with an application that runs on the phone. The service is, thus, similar to the Square in the US.

The service will process MasterCard and Visa debit and credit transactions.

PayPal's Asia Pacific head of new ventures, Brad Paterson, said the company was talking to other payment service providers about adding them to the service.

Paterson said merchants could use PayPal Here in situations where they might otherwise have to rent a portable point-of-sale terminal.

It will promote the service using the theme that anyone can use it to accept a payment "wherever they are".

Paterson and several other PayPal executives were in Sydney last week to launch PayPal Here and talk about some of the other new services the company is working on.

PayPal's chief of operations for global product and experience, Carey Kolaja, said PayPal's phone-based wallet, which will be launched some time this year, will incorporate a wider range of value, such as gift cards and coupons.

The wallet will allow users to make payments to a mobile phone number.