PayPal’s utility for sending and receiving moeny between friends has been around for quite a while, but it’s always been kind of secondary to PayPal’s main focus on ecommerce transactions. However, with the growing popularity of peer-to-peer payments, PayPal has decided to re-design its mobile app to better emphasise sending money to friends.
Which, if you think about it, is very sensible. While the vast majority of PayPal transactions would be people paying for products and services, this process rarely involves the Android app; it’s usually done through either a web-based workflow, where users sign in through PayPal’s mobile-optimised website, or through some other app which displays PayPal UI elements to complete payments.
I know I only use PayPal’s Android app to withdraw money each month, or to send money to friends. I can’t remember the last time I used it to pay for a product or service. In fact, I might never have.
The new layout, which you can see in PayPal’s video above, shows the new focus, making it easier “for customers to view their balance, get notifications, and move money from nearly wherever they are,” as PayPal says in its announcement. The update is rolling out now to “select markets,” including Australia and Italy. Other regions will receive the new design over the coming weeks.
