Back in April we reported that a PayPal and Android Pay collaboration was teetering on completion. Just a mere three weeks later we can confirm that the (metaphorical) eagle has landed.
It’s fair to say writing this article has come somewhat as a surprise, neither PayPal or Google (as of yet) have provided any sort of official announcement to say the ability to use Android Pay and PayPal together is actually here.
Pushing all that aside though, if you are in the USA, a little trip to the Play Store update page will show availability is there in all its glory, awaiting you to hit the magic button. Of course, if you are not currently a user of either now will be an opportune time to get stuck in.
So, now we have told you the merger has arrived for public use, let’s get into the nitty gritty of how you get this up and running!
If you want to get everything set up between Android Pay and PayPal, you’ll need to make sure that the two services are linked. In order to do so, you’ll need to follow a few essential steps.
After logging into your PayPal account in the app, tap the Settings gear icon. Once inside, you’ll see a new Android Pay option in the list, this will be highlighted by a new tag so should jump right out at you.
Hit that, then you’ll be taken through the process to get Android Pay and PayPal connected up together. After that, you will get asked to create a pin-code, so get thinking. This code will be used when you’re at “check out” and about to purchase something, and finally, you will be asked to load monies into the account, making sure that your transaction wont bounce meaning you have to reach into your pocket and actually part with some real cash, and let’s be honest, cash is so not cool anymore, right?
Once those steps have been completed, a PayPal option will show up in your Android Pay app. If you are not wanting to use just your PayPal balance, you can add your debit/credit card as your main source of funding. To do this you need to ensure sure the debit option is selected. The “top-up” amount will then just be simply used to keep your PayPal balance in credit. Remember, you wont be limited to purchases under this total, as PayPal will automatically withdraw money from your connected bank account to make up the difference – how cool is that!?
So, apart from the setup process, using PayPal in Android Pay is no different from any other card you use via the Android Pay facility; either set it as the default payment method or as a secondary, which will require opening the Android Pay app and selecting the PayPal card before tapping the NFC terminal at point of purchase.
At this time Android Pay is only available to US customers and as always, be sure to let us know how you all get along!