PayPal showed off its new payment system yesterday to a select group of retailers.. The company is betting that merchants will be more likely to adopt its system instead of recently touted near-field technology systems, because there’s no new card readers to buy. A customer can either enter their phone number or swipe a numberless card to complete the transaction. No word on where you might be able actually make a purchase, but merchants like Home Depot and Sports Authority were in the crowd. Seems like it could work, although the promo video include a few ridiculous, non-real life scenarios, like a woman paying for items as she goes through a grocery store. She skips the checkout line, showing the cashier her phone, which presumably indicates she’s paid for everything. Hey PayPal, that kind of trust went out with the Piggly Wiggly.
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