Home Depot and PayPal test in-store payment system
Online payment service PayPal is edging into brick-and-mortar stores by testing out a new payment system with home improvement chain Home Depot Inc.
The system, being rolled out in five Home Depot stores, works in two ways: Using an in-store terminal, shoppers can buy items by punching in a phone number and personal code linked to their PayPal account, or they can pay using a plastic card issued by PayPal that works like a credit card.
PayPal, which is owned by online auction giant Ebay Inc., is an online payment service that websites can use to process payments. It has about 100 million users.
The pilot program is part of an effort by PayPal to evolve beyond the Web and venture into physical stores and smartphone payments.
The system is in a test phase and will not be available to most of the general public for some time, a PayPal spokesman told the Associated Press.
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