By Kate Knibbs | Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:17 pm
PayPal is intensifying its battle with Square, as the company prepares to launch a credit-card reading device and competes with the larger NFC-based mobile payment contenders.PayPal plans to expand into physical stores with a credit-card reading dongle, similar to those used by Square, Intuit's GoPayment and Verifone's PAYware. According to reports, the device processes payments without expensive or heavy hardware, and is triangular, a possible dig at Square, PayPal's main rival.
Square just released Square Register, a check-out app aimed at small businesses, and PayPal's dongle indicates it aims to target the same corner of the mobile payment market.
PayPal already launched one part of its in-store expansion plan, integrating its software into Home Depot's registers so customers with PayPal accounts use them at checkout. The in-store software plan targets large retailers willing to overhaul their point-of-sales system to include PayPal. PayPal's dongle, however, may attract smaller businesses and those reluctant to revamp their whole checkout system.
Square and PayPal are battling it out, but both companies face increasingly stiff competition from mobile payment systems based on near-field communications, or NFC, technology. The upcoming Isis coalition is targeting businesses, merchants and consumers in a big push for NFC adoption on phones and in stores, which will likely bring mobile payments on a broad scale to the U.S. marketplace.
PayPal initially dismissed NFC technology as inconvenient, but the threat is mounting. Isis is ramping up security and gradually establishing a powerful coalition of backers, and more phones will land in the marketplace offering NFC capabilities. As NFC grows more accessible, it threatens both PayPal and Square.
PayPal enjoys a large user base, but the company faces stiffer competition bringing its payment system onto mobile devices and into stores, especially as Isis prepares its debut. The dongle may ramp up competition with Square and garner small business support, but PayPal has a long way to go in its quest for mobile payment dominance.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:13 pm | By Scottish scientists are developing an app converting sign language into text, showcasing mobile technology's capacity to evolve communication.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:04 pm | By AT&T is expanding its LTE service, and Tim Cook sold off more of his stock in Apple. Meanwhile, Verizon had some sporadic outages, Apple denies Proview's claims on its iPad name and Twitter snapped up Posterous, a blogging platform.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:57 pm | By Anonymous hackers struck the Vatican again, wreaking havoc despite ongoing arrests, defectors and rogue members that risk impairing future operations.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:42 pm | By Yahoo is suing Facebook over alleged patent infringement, opening up untested legal territory as the social network goes public.
Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:46 pm | By Apple's is reducing the price of the iPad 2 with the release of the new iPad, boosting the company's educational initiatives by making tablets more affordable for schools.
Editorials & Opinion By Kat Asharya
The Justice Department approved the $4.5 billion purchase of over 4,000 Nortel patents to major Android rivals like Apple and RIM, guaranteeing no end in sight to the legal battles entangling the mobile industry. 
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