Just as much as you and I like figuring out different ways to spend money, the people handling our hard-earned dollars love figuring out different methods to process the transaction. Google Pay was updated for "peer-to-peer" payments (for things like chipping in on a purchase, bar tab, or restaurant meal) just a few weeks ago, and Zelle is reportedly looking at adding support for local businesses. SEE: Consumer Reports gives low scores to popular mobile payment apps Today brings news that the PayPal mobile app is getting updated, mainly for quality-of-life improvements, but with the net effect of feeling more like a peer-to-peer payment app that one you use to buy things online. Now when you open the app, your balance, activity feed, and Send and Receive buttons are all available on the home screen, rather than divided into their own sections. PayPal's team of developers has also streamlined the process of adding your photo so that people can verify that money is going to or coming from the right person. The demo video provided by PayPal definitely emphasizes peer-to-peer payments, however, with the activity feed consisting entirely of people, with nary a store to be seen. One person requests $50 for babysitting, another person sends you $50 for literal beer money, and a third person wants $250 for instructional lessons. Underneath the set of card-based notifications is a row of profile pictures that you can slide horizontally to see more, and each pic can be tapped on to send money directly to that person. FOLLOW Download.com on Twitter to keep up with the latest app news. If you use PayPal largely as a payment option when buying something online, this whole Venmo/Square-like experience brings a much different vibe to the mobile app. PayPal's former parent company eBay actually purchased Venmo's parent company Braintree in 2013 for $800 million, and PayPal took Venmo with it when it was spun off from eBay in 2015. Since the acquisition of Venmo, PayPal has been careful not to overlap with it too much, but after its split from eBay, it began making Venmo a payment option wherever PayPal could be used. With this latest update to the PayPal mobile app, its separation from Venmo becomes increasingly blurred. For now, this new version is limited to overseas test markets such as Australia and Italy, but all Android and iOS users should have it "over the coming weeks."
app has announced an update which will make its mobile PayPal feel more like a peer-to-peer payment PayPal than one simply used to buy things online. The change, which brings the PayPal more in line with the service offered by its subsidiary Venmo, means that users will see Send and Receive buttons on the home screen, rather than split into their own sections. The move also streamlines the process of adding your photo, allowing users to verify that they are interacting with the right person.