Payments fintech PayPal will be expanding its in-store payment offerings this year, now offering users the ability to deposit money onto a prepaid debit card or use their service via a partnership with Samsung Pay, it was reported today, and as the Wall Street Journal noted earlier this month.
The payments company will now allow users to put money into an FDIC-insured prepaid debit card for retail purchases. This product is focused on those consumers who may not have bank accounts and therefore, be shut out from financial services.
“It’s crazy that those who have the least money pay the most for financial services,” Bill Ready, chief operating officer for PayPal, said to MarketWatch. Those without bank accounts could spend nearly 10% of their income on financial services, Ready said.
“We think we can provide services at a lower cost and much more efficiently,” Ready said. That sounds like the company is competing with — or if you prefer to avoid confrontation, complementing — bank services.
In addition to the debit card initiatives, Samsung Pay users will now be able to add PayPal as an option when paying with their Samsung wallet. The option, which went live today, is the result of a previously existing partnership between the two companies that was first announced in July 2017.
PayPal is set to report its first quarter 2018 earnings this Wednesday.
Read more at MarketWatch and PYMNTs.