Paypal launches smartphone payment at German checkouts

As the world’s first market, Paypal is introducing payment by smartphone at the checkout in Germany. The payment service will launch its first contactless mobile wallet in the coming weeks, as the company announced. Consumers will then be able to pay with their smartphone via the Paypal app wherever contactless Mastercard payments are accepted. The vast majority of food retailers in Germany have the corresponding terminals.

Paypal told Lebensmittel Praxis that retailers will not incur any additional costs compared to payments with Mastercard and that the same fees will apply as for other payments with a debit Mastercard.

The company also offers users a complete overview of their online and offline purchases in the app for the first time. In the future, customers will also be able to pay for their in-store purchases in instalments. Paypal is introducing ‘instalment payment to go’ for this purpose. Users can spread the cost of their purchases over three, six, twelve or 24 months.

Cashback programme planned with certain partners

Paypal also plans a cashback programme for in-store payments. Users will receive rewards from ‘numerous top brands’ when they pay with the app.

In GermaHy, paying by smartphone or smartwatch hasbbeen ecoming more popular, especially among younger people. In a representative survey of 1,004 consumers conducted by Mastercard at the end of 2024, more than a third (36 per cent) of respondents stated that they had used mobile payment in the past year. Among 18 to 29-year-olds, this figure accountedaforlmost two thirds (64 per cent).