PayPal has extended its offline strategy across the US by teaming up with financial services company Discover Financial.
Starting in 2013, Discover will work with PayPal to enable participating merchants to accept PayPal easily through their existing relationship with Discover. This means, to offer PayPal merchants will not have to install or upgrade existing point-of-sale hardware or software. There are plans to strategy will help PayPal reach more than seven million merchants across the US. There's also the potential of expanding that presence further in other international merchant locations.
Diane Offereins, president of Discover Payment Services, said the establishment of the relationship will help create alternative payments option for consumers at the point of sale.
“This initiative will result in real change and innovation for the industry by bringing new technologies to the point of sale that benefit merchants and PayPal customers," she said.
As part of the strategy, consumers will be informed about the additional payments option through in-store signage.
Don Kingsborough, PayPal’s vice president of retail, said: "This relationship will deliver a truly seamless digital wallet, available most places consumers shop offline, which offers the speed, simplicity and security already enjoyed by 113 million active PayPal customers online."