Mobile payments may or may not be a real thing yet, but one thing is clear: Wearable tech providers badly want to give traditional wallets the heave-ho, and they’re kicking up a maelstrom of activity to make it happen. Next up: PayPal and Pebble.
PayPal, the payments service Apple forgot (or rather, chose to ignore) for Apple Pay, landed on Android Wear in June. Now, the company announces its service has also landed on Pebble smartwatches via an all-new watch app.
See also: Apple Is Less Than Inviting To PayPal In Apple Pay
Mobile users need to have the PayPal mobile app installed on their phones, and then download the PayPal watch app from Pebble’s app store. Once downloaded, you’ll have to log in.
Just like the smartphone apps on Android and iPhone, the app uses your location to find PayPal-friendly restaurants and stores near you. The Pebble watch app should work at any business that accepts the standard PayPal mobile app.
When you’re physically at the business location, you scroll through the list of stores and restaurants to the one you want, and then press the middle (right side) button to check in there. The cashier will see you pop up in the POS system, and approve the transaction. Afterward, Pebble will display your payment receipt.
One thing that’s missing: You can’t email money to friends from your wrist. Then again, maybe this is best left off the Pebble. Trying to enter a contact’s email on that little black and white e-paper screen by mashing buttons doesn’t seem like a lot of fun. Not having to fumble for our phones or wallets, however, sounds quite handy.
If you’ve got a Pebble, the PayPal app is already sitting in the Pebble Appstore, ready to install.
Photos by Adriana Lee for ReadWrite
