PayPal have teamed up with Vodafone to enable customers in Europe to make contactless payments with Android smartphones funded from their PayPal account.
Currently, you can make Near Field Communication (NFC) payments with Vodafone with Vodafone Wallet (which stores your cards) and Vodafone SmartPass (which enables you to make payments under £30 via NFC).
It’s all a bit of a faff as you first have to top up your account with a debit or credit card. Seems to me if you suddenly want to pay for something and have to top up your account with a card then you might as well pay by card in the first place.
Vodafone Wallet users can also register and pay contactlessly using Visa and MasterCard payment cards which is a bit better as then you don’t have to top up and is a bit more seamless at the point you decide to make a purchase.
PayPal is about to make things better. At some point during 2016, millions of PayPal customers will be able to add their PayPal account to Vodafone Wallet and from then on pay with PayPal contactlessly with their smartphone. If you don’t already have a PayPal account you’ll be able to sign up for one from within the Vodafone Wallet app.
PayPal and Vodafone have developed the wallet solution in partnership with Raphaels Bank and Carta Worldwide. The Vodafone Wallet is currently available in Germany, Spain, the UK, Italy and The Netherlands.
Oh one more thing though, before you use it you’ll have to get a new NFC SIM card. An NFC SIM works like a normal one but also includes a Secure Element (SE) which is developed by Visa. SE is a part of the SIM that secures all contactless payments made with Vodafone Wallet. You can request an NFC SIM at any Vodafone shop.
