PayPal Makes It Easier to Spend with Prepaid Cards; Tests M-Payments in Berlin (Dec. 2, 2013)
PayPal has made it easier for consumers with network branded prepaid gift cards to redeem them while shopping online. In response to consumer frustration, the company said it has developed a patent-pending method of enabling shoppers to “seamlessly” apply their gift cards to purchases made with merchants accepting PayPal.
“A lot of e-commerce sites can’t or won’t accept a prepaid card even if other credit or debit cards of the same card brands are allowed [and] many consumers are forced to call the card issuer or go to a special Website to register a billing address before trying to pay with the prepaid gift card,” Ed Lee, PayPal product management, conversion optimization, wrote in a blog last week. “Now, no more of this hassle is required if you use prepaid gift cards through PayPal Checkout.”
PayPal also reportedly is testing a mobile check-in and payments service in Berlin with Orderbird, a German mobile commerce technology provider. The service, called PayPal CheckIn, is designed to provide consumers with a personalized experience when shopping and paying for goods at stores using the PayPal CheckIn. The service is similar to PayPal Beacon introduced earlier this year, in which participating customers trigger the service when they enter the store.
