eBay, PayPal, Opera announce mobile payment innovations at MWC

Nope, "Grease" isn't the word, it's "Mobile Payments," or at least it would be if it wasn't technically two words. Still, eBay, PayPal and Opera have used the fiesta atmosphere at MWC to promote their services, as you do. eBay's partnered with UK carrier Three, which will now pre-install the auction site's apps on all the Android phones it sells. It's also teamed up with hotelier Yotel and Iberian ticketing service Entradas to offer quick-and-easy payments for the same. Meanwhile, Opera has launched the Opera Payment Exchange (OPX), aiming to democratize the space by making secure commerce available on any form of feature phone, rather than just top-level smartphones. Finally, PayPal has rolled out a new payments system to Home Depot nationwide. Every branch will be equipped to handle payments from the online agency using a card or cellphone and PIN combination. After the break we've got the details for all three, suffice to say it won't be long before you can spend every penny you've earned without having to get out of bed.

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eBay Inc. Announces New Partnerships and Innovations to Mobile Commerce Ecosystem

eBay and PayPal deliver new world-class mobile shopping solutions for carriers, merchants and consumers

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), a global leader in mobile commerce with its suite of eBay and PayPal mobile applications, today kicked off Mobile World Congress with announcements of a new partnership with major carrier Three.co.uk; strategic integrations with merchants such as Yotel and Entradas.com; and mobile app updates that evolve mobile commerce selling and shopping experiences for consumers.

The announcements underscore eBay's commitment to leading mobile commerce innovation and building out a robust mobile commerce ecosystem with carriers, merchants and consumers worldwide. In 2011, eBay mobile commerce generated $5 billion in retail volume, and PayPal mobile generated $4 billion in payment volume. eBay's mobile apps have been downloaded more than 70 million times. In 2012, eBay expects to do $8 billion in mobile commerce retail volume, and PayPal expects to process $7 billion in mobile payment volume.

"Mobile commerce is changing the way people shop and pay, and the ways in which merchants of all sizes engage consumers," said John Donahoe, eBay Inc. President and CEO. "We're seeing a new retail paradigm emerge through mobile. Consumers are in control, and they want to shop anytime, anywhere. That creates opportunity. eBay is driving mobile commerce innovation, partnering with carriers and merchants to build a new retail ecosystem that drives growth by delivering anytime, anywhere value and rich multichannel shopping experiences for consumers."

eBay and PayPal Partner with Carriers to Drive Mobile Commerce

eBay and Three.co.uk have partnered to deliver mobile devices pre-loaded with eBay apps, bringing the mobile shopping experience directly to consumers. With this deal, Android smartphones on the UK's fastest growing network will now come with eBay's mobile app directly on the device. The move will mean Three and eBay's customers can enjoy a quick, easy and direct shopping experience.

PayPal launched today the PayPal Carrier Payment Network, to make mobile carrier payments more viable for a wider number of online merchants. PayPal will work with its 250+ carriers and 1,500+ digital goods merchants to expand the carrier payment experience and create a win-win situation for carriers, merchants and consumers. The initiative will require that carriers revise standards to help optimize user experience, increase flexibility of carrier payments as a payment method, and increase payout rates for merchants, allowing carrier payments to address the entire digital goods industry, which is expected to grow to $220 billion by 2014 according to Juniper Research.

Merchants Rush to Adopt PayPal Services to Expand Mobile Commerce

PayPal teamed up with Spain's leading ticketing company, Entradas.com, to allow consumers to save time and skip the line by buying tickets with a mobile phone and PayPal. Since integrating PayPal into its app a few weeks ago, Entradas.com has already seen more than 15 percent of customers purchase tickets using PayPal.

PayPal has collaborated with Yotel to allow consumers to soon book a room at Yotel's flagship hotel in New York, or one of their stylish cabins at London Heathrow & Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports, with PayPal on your smartphone. Travelers can book on any smartphone using the browser – there's no need to download an app, simply visit the Yotel website on a mobile device and follow the instructions to book a room in under 60 seconds.

eBay Delivers Solutions for Consumers

In addition to enabling commerce for merchants and carriers, eBay's mobile apps connect consumers to a global network of sellers. eBay mobile helps consumers find the products they want in the palm of their hands, anytime and anywhere inspiration strikes. For individual buyers and sellers, eBay continues to drive exchange with a portfolio of apps, including eBay Core, RedLaser 3.0, eBay for iPad and Image Swatch that facilitate global exchange through seamless search, comparison, bid and pay functionality.

With the version 2.5.0 update to the eBay Core app for iPhone, eBay now delivers the ability to calculate shipping, research pricing trends and make sales from virtually anywhere, as well as offering improved image quality, push notifications on bids and Twitter integration.

Show full PR text

eBay Inc. Announces New Partnerships and Innovations to Mobile Commerce Ecosystem

eBay and PayPal deliver new world-class mobile shopping solutions for carriers, merchants and consumers

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), a global leader in mobile commerce with its suite of eBay and PayPal mobile applications, today kicked off Mobile World Congress with announcements of a new partnership with major carrier Three.co.uk; strategic integrations with merchants such as Yotel and Entradas.com; and mobile app updates that evolve mobile commerce selling and shopping experiences for consumers.

The announcements underscore eBay's commitment to leading mobile commerce innovation and building out a robust mobile commerce ecosystem with carriers, merchants and consumers worldwide. In 2011, eBay mobile commerce generated $5 billion in retail volume, and PayPal mobile generated $4 billion in payment volume. eBay's mobile apps have been downloaded more than 70 million times. In 2012, eBay expects to do $8 billion in mobile commerce retail volume, and PayPal expects to process $7 billion in mobile payment volume.

"Mobile commerce is changing the way people shop and pay, and the ways in which merchants of all sizes engage consumers," said John Donahoe, eBay Inc. President and CEO. "We're seeing a new retail paradigm emerge through mobile. Consumers are in control, and they want to shop anytime, anywhere. That creates opportunity. eBay is driving mobile commerce innovation, partnering with carriers and merchants to build a new retail ecosystem that drives growth by delivering anytime, anywhere value and rich multichannel shopping experiences for consumers."

eBay and PayPal Partner with Carriers to Drive Mobile Commerce

eBay and Three.co.uk have partnered to deliver mobile devices pre-loaded with eBay apps, bringing the mobile shopping experience directly to consumers. With this deal, Android smartphones on the UK's fastest growing network will now come with eBay's mobile app directly on the device. The move will mean Three and eBay's customers can enjoy a quick, easy and direct shopping experience.

PayPal launched today the PayPal Carrier Payment Network, to make mobile carrier payments more viable for a wider number of online merchants. PayPal will work with its 250+ carriers and 1,500+ digital goods merchants to expand the carrier payment experience and create a win-win situation for carriers, merchants and consumers. The initiative will require that carriers revise standards to help optimize user experience, increase flexibility of carrier payments as a payment method, and increase payout rates for merchants, allowing carrier payments to address the entire digital goods industry, which is expected to grow to $220 billion by 2014 according to Juniper Research.

Merchants Rush to Adopt PayPal Services to Expand Mobile Commerce

PayPal teamed up with Spain's leading ticketing company, Entradas.com, to allow consumers to save time and skip the line by buying tickets with a mobile phone and PayPal. Since integrating PayPal into its app a few weeks ago, Entradas.com has already seen more than 15 percent of customers purchase tickets using PayPal.

PayPal has collaborated with Yotel to allow consumers to soon book a room at Yotel's flagship hotel in New York, or one of their stylish cabins at London Heathrow & Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports, with PayPal on your smartphone. Travelers can book on any smartphone using the browser – there's no need to download an app, simply visit the Yotel website on a mobile device and follow the instructions to book a room in under 60 seconds.

eBay Delivers Solutions for Consumers

In addition to enabling commerce for merchants and carriers, eBay's mobile apps connect consumers to a global network of sellers. eBay mobile helps consumers find the products they want in the palm of their hands, anytime and anywhere inspiration strikes. For individual buyers and sellers, eBay continues to drive exchange with a portfolio of apps, including eBay Core, RedLaser 3.0, eBay for iPad and Image Swatch that facilitate global exchange through seamless search, comparison, bid and pay functionality.

With the version 2.5.0 update to the eBay Core app for iPhone, eBay now delivers the ability to calculate shipping, research pricing trends and make sales from virtually anywhere, as well as offering improved image quality, push notifications on bids and Twitter integration.


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Opera Payment Exchange brings mobile payments to the 99%
San Mateo, Calif. and Barcelona - February 28, 2012

Opera Software today launched the Opera Payment Exchange (OPX) to provide the world's best user experience in mobile payments. The Opera Payment Exchange will enable the global user base of Opera Mini, the world's most popular mobile browser, with the power to carry out mobile transactions securely and simply with payment instruments they know and trust.

The Opera Payment Exchange will enable payment transactions for more than 160 million Opera Mini users by acting as a glue between content providers, publishers and mobile billing systems and digital payment gateways, while building trust with end consumers. OPX provides APIs that members of the ecosystem can use to make mobile-payment processing within the Opera Mini browser seamless, resulting in higher transaction success rates.

With OPX, every player in the mobile payments ecosystem stands to gain:

For Opera Mini users, OPX will provide a secure and trustworthy mobile-payment experience that is ubiquitous, convenient and easy to control.
For publishers, OPX helps maximize the potential of their existing billing connections with carriers, payment instrument providers and payment gateways, by increasing conversions through merchandising intelligence based on transactions performed on the publishers website, and through a trusted user experience.
For operators, OPX provides a new revenue stream with standardized integration, better support and retailing insights based on carrier billing.
For payment providers and payment gateways, OPX will overcome inconsistent user experience and fear of fraud with one-click, native support for payment instruments.

"At Opera, it is all about giving the user the best possible experience," said Mahi de Silva, EVP for Consumer Mobile, Opera Software. "Mobile payments have so far been a privilege for users of high-end devices in developed markets. With OPX, Opera is expanding this to all devices, no matter the location, carrier or payment instrument by giving the stakeholders in the ecosystem the right technology to carry out the transactions."

Opera is already working with several valuable partners including InMobi SmartPay, Yandex.Money and Bango to make Opera Payments Exchange a ubiquitous part of mobile payments in many regions, with coverage expanding to other parts of the globe rapidly in the coming year.

For more information, visit Opera at Mobile World Congress located at Hall 1 at Booth C44. To schedule an interview or demo of Opera's latest offerings, contact Pål Unanue-ZahlPål Unanue-Zahl palu[at]opera.com.

Show full PR text

eBay Inc. Announces New Partnerships and Innovations to Mobile Commerce Ecosystem

eBay and PayPal deliver new world-class mobile shopping solutions for carriers, merchants and consumers

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), a global leader in mobile commerce with its suite of eBay and PayPal mobile applications, today kicked off Mobile World Congress with announcements of a new partnership with major carrier Three.co.uk; strategic integrations with merchants such as Yotel and Entradas.com; and mobile app updates that evolve mobile commerce selling and shopping experiences for consumers.

The announcements underscore eBay's commitment to leading mobile commerce innovation and building out a robust mobile commerce ecosystem with carriers, merchants and consumers worldwide. In 2011, eBay mobile commerce generated $5 billion in retail volume, and PayPal mobile generated $4 billion in payment volume. eBay's mobile apps have been downloaded more than 70 million times. In 2012, eBay expects to do $8 billion in mobile commerce retail volume, and PayPal expects to process $7 billion in mobile payment volume.

"Mobile commerce is changing the way people shop and pay, and the ways in which merchants of all sizes engage consumers," said John Donahoe, eBay Inc. President and CEO. "We're seeing a new retail paradigm emerge through mobile. Consumers are in control, and they want to shop anytime, anywhere. That creates opportunity. eBay is driving mobile commerce innovation, partnering with carriers and merchants to build a new retail ecosystem that drives growth by delivering anytime, anywhere value and rich multichannel shopping experiences for consumers."

eBay and PayPal Partner with Carriers to Drive Mobile Commerce

eBay and Three.co.uk have partnered to deliver mobile devices pre-loaded with eBay apps, bringing the mobile shopping experience directly to consumers. With this deal, Android smartphones on the UK's fastest growing network will now come with eBay's mobile app directly on the device. The move will mean Three and eBay's customers can enjoy a quick, easy and direct shopping experience.

PayPal launched today the PayPal Carrier Payment Network, to make mobile carrier payments more viable for a wider number of online merchants. PayPal will work with its 250+ carriers and 1,500+ digital goods merchants to expand the carrier payment experience and create a win-win situation for carriers, merchants and consumers. The initiative will require that carriers revise standards to help optimize user experience, increase flexibility of carrier payments as a payment method, and increase payout rates for merchants, allowing carrier payments to address the entire digital goods industry, which is expected to grow to $220 billion by 2014 according to Juniper Research.

Merchants Rush to Adopt PayPal Services to Expand Mobile Commerce

PayPal teamed up with Spain's leading ticketing company, Entradas.com, to allow consumers to save time and skip the line by buying tickets with a mobile phone and PayPal. Since integrating PayPal into its app a few weeks ago, Entradas.com has already seen more than 15 percent of customers purchase tickets using PayPal.

PayPal has collaborated with Yotel to allow consumers to soon book a room at Yotel's flagship hotel in New York, or one of their stylish cabins at London Heathrow & Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports, with PayPal on your smartphone. Travelers can book on any smartphone using the browser – there's no need to download an app, simply visit the Yotel website on a mobile device and follow the instructions to book a room in under 60 seconds.

eBay Delivers Solutions for Consumers

In addition to enabling commerce for merchants and carriers, eBay's mobile apps connect consumers to a global network of sellers. eBay mobile helps consumers find the products they want in the palm of their hands, anytime and anywhere inspiration strikes. For individual buyers and sellers, eBay continues to drive exchange with a portfolio of apps, including eBay Core, RedLaser 3.0, eBay for iPad and Image Swatch that facilitate global exchange through seamless search, comparison, bid and pay functionality.

With the version 2.5.0 update to the eBay Core app for iPhone, eBay now delivers the ability to calculate shipping, research pricing trends and make sales from virtually anywhere, as well as offering improved image quality, push notifications on bids and Twitter integration.


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Opera Payment Exchange brings mobile payments to the 99%
San Mateo, Calif. and Barcelona - February 28, 2012

Opera Software today launched the Opera Payment Exchange (OPX) to provide the world's best user experience in mobile payments. The Opera Payment Exchange will enable the global user base of Opera Mini, the world's most popular mobile browser, with the power to carry out mobile transactions securely and simply with payment instruments they know and trust.

The Opera Payment Exchange will enable payment transactions for more than 160 million Opera Mini users by acting as a glue between content providers, publishers and mobile billing systems and digital payment gateways, while building trust with end consumers. OPX provides APIs that members of the ecosystem can use to make mobile-payment processing within the Opera Mini browser seamless, resulting in higher transaction success rates.

With OPX, every player in the mobile payments ecosystem stands to gain:

For Opera Mini users, OPX will provide a secure and trustworthy mobile-payment experience that is ubiquitous, convenient and easy to control.
For publishers, OPX helps maximize the potential of their existing billing connections with carriers, payment instrument providers and payment gateways, by increasing conversions through merchandising intelligence based on transactions performed on the publishers website, and through a trusted user experience.
For operators, OPX provides a new revenue stream with standardized integration, better support and retailing insights based on carrier billing.
For payment providers and payment gateways, OPX will overcome inconsistent user experience and fear of fraud with one-click, native support for payment instruments.

"At Opera, it is all about giving the user the best possible experience," said Mahi de Silva, EVP for Consumer Mobile, Opera Software. "Mobile payments have so far been a privilege for users of high-end devices in developed markets. With OPX, Opera is expanding this to all devices, no matter the location, carrier or payment instrument by giving the stakeholders in the ecosystem the right technology to carry out the transactions."

Opera is already working with several valuable partners including InMobi SmartPay, Yandex.Money and Bango to make Opera Payments Exchange a ubiquitous part of mobile payments in many regions, with coverage expanding to other parts of the globe rapidly in the coming year.

For more information, visit Opera at Mobile World Congress located at Hall 1 at Booth C44. To schedule an interview or demo of Opera's latest offerings, contact Pål Unanue-ZahlPål Unanue-Zahl palu[at]opera.com.


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The Home Depot Brings PayPal into its Nearly 2,000 stores in the U.S.

February 28, 2012

Just six weeks ago we announced a small five-store pilot with The Home Depot to test PayPal's in store payment system. Today we're proud to report that The Home Depot is beginning a national roll-out that will let customers pay with PayPal in all of its nearly 2,000 locations nationwide.

Within the next two weeks, every The Home Depot store in the U.S. will be equipped to accept payments from customers using a PayPal card, or mobile phone number and PIN combination. To see how PayPal works in store, check out this video. Or better yet, sign up to use PayPal in stores and, once we're live in your area, head to the local The Home Depot to try it out for yourself. The expected roll out schedule is as follows:

Starting on February 27th

South – Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, New Orleans, Oklahoma, Tampa/St. Petersburg
North Plains – Minneapolis, Omaha, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Starting on March 2nd

West – Bay Area, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle
NY Metro – New York City, Long Island
North – Boston, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia

Starting on March 7th

Mid-West – Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Ohio Valley, Pittsburgh
Mid-Atlantic – Washington D.C., Baltimore
South Atlantic – Louisville, Charlotte, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Nashville

Starting on March 8th

Central – Chicago, St. Louis

The Home Depot integration is a great milestone for us, proof that we're making our vision for the future of shopping a reality, but it's only the beginning. We're going to continue re-imagining money to make it work better for our retail partners and their valued customers – stay tuned for more exciting innovations to come.

- Don Kingsborough, Vice President of Retail and Prepaid Products, PayPal