PayPal and Skype have announced yet another way to transfer money to others. The online payments system has formed a partnership with Skype, allowing you to send and receive money through the Skype app on your mobile device.
If you have the latest version of the Skype mobile app — available for both iOS and Android — it now includes a new feature called Send Money. First time users are required to confirm their location to make sure it’s available where you are. Even though the user sending money has to have the latest version of the app, those receiving the funds can be on any version of Skype.
Currency exchange is also included within the feature. So, if you’re sending money from Europe to the U.S., you’ll have the option to send the funds in American dollars. At the moment, the update is available in 22 countries including the U.S., Canada, and parts of Europe. Both users must also have a PayPal account, and will be prompted to create one if they don’t.
To use the feature, tap “Find” in the Skype chat or swipe to the right and select “Send Money” from the add-ins. Once you select the country your friend lives in, you’ll be able to enter the amount of money you’d like to send, and then prompted to sign into and link your PayPal account to your Microsoft account. After pressing “Send” and completing the transfer, it will be represented as a money card within your conversation.
When someone sends you money, you’ll see the money card in the chat and can select the “Collection” option to transfer it to your PayPal account. If you’re using another Skype client, you’ll receive a message in the chat window with a link to to Skype’s website to then transfer the money.
Rolling out the ability to send money to friends and family with PayPal on Skype, both companies are attempting to eliminate the need to switch from Skype to your browser or banking app. The new process should only take a few taps on the Skype app, without the need to visit other apps.
Recently, PayPal revealed its also available through Apple’s iTunes and App Stores in Canada and Mexico — with plans on rolling out in the U.S. at a later date. Users can now use it as a payment option on all iOS devices and those with iOS 10 can use Siri to send or request personal payments to your PayPal account as well.
