PayPal One Touch Coming Soon to Simplify In-App Mobile Purchases

By Andy Boxall August 20, 2014

paypal 25 million fine over credit case one touch — Image used with permission by copyright holder

PayPal has introduced One Touch, a new system which aims to simplify the process of buying products on our smartphones, by reducing the amount of screens to view, buttons to tap, and forms to fill out. Sounds good, and similar to the changes the payments company introduced to the desktop buying experience earlier this year.

One Touch isn’t going to be a standalone app, or something we’ll be seeing on the high street, but an add-on system that online retailers can place in their own mobile apps. Today marks the first time developers will be able to get their hands on the beta version, and start integrating it into their own mobile-friendly stores.

PayPal also wants One Touch to end the problem of remembering passwords, and re-entering them every time we go to buy something. Using One Touch means a single sign-in through the standard PayPal app will be all that’s needed the first time you make a purchase, then each time you return in the future, you’ll just tap the Buy button and that’s it. PayPal does say you’ll still be able to choose different funding methods, but otherwise, you won’t be bothered by multiple options, or annoying browser windows opening up.

The One Touch system is the work of Braintree, the mobile payments startup purchased by PayPal’s parent company eBay in 2013. Both Braintree and PayPal emphasize the importance of security, and promise all financial information is kept safe using the “industry’s best fraud management tools.”

When will you get to use the One Touch system? Only selected developers are able to access the software development kit at the moment, but PayPal expects the first examples to start showing up over the coming weeks, and things should accelerate once the SDK becomes more widely available. All you need to prepare is to have a PayPal account, and the PayPal app installed on your iOS or Android phone.

Editors' Recommendations

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

You can pick up the Google Pixel 7 Pro for only $500 today

The Pixel 7 Pro with its display turned on, showing the home screen.

If you've been holding out on buying a new phone for a while because prices are still expensive, then you may want to consider going for one of the older flagship phones. For example, while the Pixel 8 Pro is out, the Pixel 7 Pro is still a powerful and viable alternative, and even better, it has quite a few great deals on it. In fact, you can buy a brand new and sealed Pixel 7 Pro from Woot for just $500, rather than the usual $1,100, and that's for the 512GB version of the phone, so you get a lot of storage with it as well.

Mobile

A new Google Pixel Tablet is coming, but it’s not what you think

Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

It's been almost a year since the Google Pixel Tablet went up for preorder, leading many Android tablet fans to wonder when the inevitable Pixel Tablet 2 will arrive. A new rumor suggests that Google could release a new Pixel Tablet as early as next month, but it's probably not what you were expecting or hoping for.

According to @MysteryLupin on X (formerly Twitter), Google is planning to "relaunch" the Pixel Tablet without the charging/speaker dock included in the box. As you'll likely recall, the speaker dock is the Pixel Tablet's standout feature. You can use the Pixel Tablet on its own as a traditional Android tablet when you want, and when you're done, you throw it on the dock to transform it into a smart display. The idea of Google selling the Pixel Tablet without its claim to fame is an interesting one.

Mobile

Anker sale: up to 40% off portable chargers, cable, and more

The iPhone 15 Pro Max being charged by the Anker MagGo Power Bank.

If you've been looking to pick up a new charging cable, charger, or all-in-one charging station for your Android phone or iPhone, then you'll be happy to know that Anker is having a rather large Earth-Day sale that you can take advantage of. There are a ton of discounts that you can take advantage of, too, with up to 40% off in some cases. I that wasn't enough, you can even snag yourself some free gifts, for example, one of the best accessories for a Galaxy S24 is the Anker Nano Power Bank if you spend more than $90, or even an Anker 621 Magnetic Battery if you spend over $120. Either way, there are a lot of options, and while we've shared some of our favorite deals below, it's also worth taking a look at everything Anker has to offer by pressing the button below.

What you should buy during Anker's Sale
One of the most basic things you may need for any device is a charging cable, and Anker has a couple of great options for that. If you're on an older iPhone with a lightning cable, you can grab Anker's Anker 641 USB-C to Lightning Cable that's 6 feet long using the coupon WSPEV2KENJP2. On the other hand, if you need a USB-C to connect and charge your devices, you can grab the 6-foot Anker 543 USB-C to USB-C Cable using the code WSPEV2EHDR0C.