By Greg Bensinger 

EBay Inc.'s PayPal payments unit is buying mobile wallet firm Paydiant as competition for in-store payments grows from rivals Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will give PayPal instant access to a group of customers using Paydiant's technology, including Subway and the consortium of retailers known as the Merchant Customer Exchange. That consortium, includes Target Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sears Holding Corp., has been developing an in-store payments app known as CurrentC, that is meant to be an answer to Apple's Apple Pay system.

Massachusetts-based Paydiant provides the back-end technology behind mobile apps that allow for in-store payments using a scannable code at checkout. Unlike Apple, that technology requires the extra step of turning on a phone, which has slowed adoption.

PayPal's Bill Ready, the head of its merchant business, said the acquisition allows the company to expand payments options for its 155 million active users.

"We want to enable payments any way people want to make them," said Mr. Ready, who joined PayPal as part of its $800 million acquisition of Braintree.

PayPal will need an answer to Apple and Google when it spins off from eBay later this year as a separate publicly traded company.

Apple Pay allows for payments simply by waving a phone in front of a reader, using a technology known as near-field communication. Google too is investing in NFC technology with its purchase of Softcard, formerly Isis, a tap-and-pay payment system that is a joint venture of AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc.

PayPal's in-store payments efforts have failed to gain much traction, including software for checkout registers and card-swiping hardware known as PayPal Here. The company let go its head on in-store payment earlier this year.

PayPal expects to close the deal for Paydiant as soon as later this month.

Write to Greg Bensinger at greg.bensinger@wsj.com

Access Investor Kit for Apple, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0378331005

Access Investor Kit for eBay, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US2786421030

Access Investor Kit for Google, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38259P5089

Access Investor Kit for Google, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38259P7069

Access Investor Kit for Sears Holdings Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US8123501061

Access Investor Kit for Target Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US87612E1064

Access Investor Kit for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US9311421039

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more eBay Charts.
eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more eBay Charts.