PayPal Launches Mobile Payments App for Pebble Smartwatch

PayPal today announced that its popular iOS and Android mobile payments app will be available for the Pebble Smartwatch (via VentureBeat).

The PayPal app has let users pay for purchases in certain locations for a while now, and integration with Android Wear has allowed users of Android-powered smart watches such as Samsung’s Gear 2, Gear S, and Gear Fit to make payments via their watches since earlier this year. With the new Pebble app, iOS users can now get a taste of the functionality, which allows them to check into stores and pay for their purchases at locations where PayPal is readily accepted, all without need of using a phone.

Customers can pay for purchases one of two ways: with an auto-generated payment code used when checking out or, with certain PayPal accepted retailers, by checking into a store inside of the PayPal app. If using the latter payment method, the app will automatically communicate with the merchant's point of sale during the check-out process.

PayPal's integration with these smart devices in some ways mirrors Apple's own burgeoning payment system Apple Pay, which is slowly rolling out just now, although the two systems have some significant differences. Despite early rumors of a possible partnership between the online payment giant and Apple earlier this year, the talks reportedly came to a halt when PayPal inked a deal with Samsung to allow users to make PayPal payments with the Galaxy S5's fingerprint sensor.

PayPal was subsequently excluded from any integration into Apple Pay. PayPal, in response, launched an ad targeting the public release of certain private celebrity iCloud photos and simultaneously promoting its own intense security.

The PayPal app for the Pebble Smartwatch can be downloaded now for free. Its features can also be taken advantage of in the PayPaliOS app [Direct Link].