Google PayPal to unite for Android?

PayPal and Android to unite?

In order that more customers can use their Android phones to buy more applications, Google has said it is considering adding PayPal functionality to its Android smartphone software.

The news was broken by Bloomberg that cited three sources that said PayPal could be added as an option for the Android Market, alongside credit cards and Google's own Checkout service, later this year.

Despite neither company commenting on the rumours, it is alleged that they've been in unconfirmed talks on the issue. If so, users of phones such as the Motorola's Droid X and HTC's Droid Incredible would be given the ability to pay for apps with PayPal as opposed to the usual credit card and checkout service.

Expanding user base

By adding this functionality to the Android platform, Google will be able to attract more users to their software with the easy-to-pay service. Currently, they faced enormous competition from Apple's App Store that has 225,000 applications compared to 70,000 applications available on the Android Market.

PayPal has 87 million active accounts - a large market for Google to appeal to. By adding PayPal, Google would also give app developers another way to get paid, potentially making them more likely to create software for Android.

The advantage to Google is clear, but for PayPal it gets to solidify its user base and well as increasing its presence on mobile phones. It would also aid the company's ambitious financial goals which were set by John Donahoe, Chief Executive of Ebay, last year.

Then, he said PayPal revenue would nearly double from 2008 to 2011, putting PayPal's revenue at US$4-5 billion next year.

However, while you may be thinking that PayPal is already available for accepting and making mobile payments on the iPhone and Android platforms, the rumoured talks would essentially make PayPal more closely integrated with Android, such as how iTunes works with Apple products.

Of course, now we all have to wait for this speculation to be confirmed.

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