PayPal to debut credit card with a difference

PayPal previously partnered with MasterCard over an actual plastic card as opposed to a virtual one

Online payment house PayPal is to debut a new way of using its service on all websites - even those that don't support PayPal as a payment method. The company is set to release a new plugin called the PayPal Secure Card which helps you fill out online shopping forms through the use of a browser button.

So far so normal. But there's a difference. Through a partnership with MasterCard, the PayPal software generates a unique credit card number that is used for the transaction. The idea is that sellers don't have to do anything different, while the experience is seamless for the purchaser.

'It looks like any other transaction'

"From a merchant's perspective this looks like any other MasterCard transaction," said Chris George, PayPal director of financial products told Reuters. "And it's just another PayPal purchase to the customer."

PayPal will hope it can further improve on its position as the de facto online payment house - last quarter it handled over $12.2 billion (£5.9 billion) in payments. That's up more than 30 per cent compared with the same period last year. This latest initiative is another way in which the eBay-owned company is trying to make online transactions even more secure.

The move is surely designed to pitch the service more squarely against Google Checkout and is available from today for customers in the US - we'll get to follow, though it's not clear exactly when.

The service isn't yet platform agnostic, either. For now it will only work on Windows installations with IE or Firefox, though some early reports suggest the Firefox plugin is less than helpful, and doesn't fill in forms.

Valleywag also points out that PayPal's online card isn't new - it's just recycling an old idea it first had six years ago.

Contributor

Dan (Twitter, Google+) is TechRadar's Former Deputy Editor and is now in charge at our sister site T3.com. Covering all things computing, internet and mobile he's a seasoned regular at major tech shows such as CES, IFA and Mobile World Congress. Dan has also been a tech expert for many outlets including BBC Radio 4, 5Live and the World Service, The Sun and ITV News.

Latest in Payment Services
PayPal Rewards on smartphone
New PayPal program will help you find discounts thanks to Honey
Apple Spring Forward 2021
Apple expands its credit card with Apple Card Family
apple card
The Apple Card is here in the US, and you can get one in minutes
PayPal debit cards, check deposits, and more on the way
PayPal introduces Siri support
Apple Pay
Apple Pay has landed on the web just in time for macOS Sierra
Latest in News
Garmin clippd integration
Garmin's golf watches just got a big software integration upgrade to help you improve your game
Robert Downey Jr reveals himself as Doctor Doom to a delighted crowd at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
Marvel is currently making a major announcement about Avengers: Doomsday's cast on YouTube, and I think it's going to be a long-winded reveal
Samsung QN90F on yellow background
Samsung announces US prices for its 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, and it’s good and bad news
Nintendo Switch Lite
Forget the Nintendo Switch 2, the original Switch is getting one last hurrah in a surprise Nintendo Direct tomorrow
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge colors seemingly revealed in new video, and there’s another sign of an imminent launch
Microsoft Copiot Studio deep reasoning and agent flows
Microsoft reveals OpenAI-powered Copilot AI agents to bosot your work research and data analysis