No wallet… No phone… No problem!
eBay Inc. CEO, John Donahoe, talked about the new PayPal mobile payment tests being run at 51 Home Depot stores starting this week during eBay’s quarterly earnings call this afternoon. He went one better too. He actually visited a store this morning to try out the technology first-hand.
“This week @PayPal will be launching a pilot to 51 @HomeDepot stores…” #eBayQ411
— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012
Leaving his wallet and his mobile phone in his car, he tried the first-hand integration this morning at a San Jose Home Depot. By entering his mobile phone number and PIN, he was able to pay for a hammer in a matter of seconds. The receipt was emailed to him.
“…@PayPal customers will be able to pay for purchases in these @HomeDepot stores by swiping their PayPal card…”
— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012
The system works in two ways:
1. Using an in-store terminal, shoppers can buy items by punching in a phone number and PIN linked to their PayPal account
2. Pay using a plastic card issued by PayPal that works like a credit card
“…or entering their mobile phone number/PIN. No wallet or specific type of smartphone is required.” #eBayQ411 $eBay
— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012
Here’s an example of a text receipt sent to a mobile phone after purchase:
I think I may head over to Home Depot on Friday to try this out for myself.
Cheers!
RBH
