PayPal in Skype is rolling out in 22 countries, among them the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The digital payment platform is integrated directly into Microsoft’s chat and messaging service. Microsoft is a little late to this party as PayPal has worked in iMessage and Slack for some time. However, better late than never and it seems functionality mirrors the integration on those two rival services. Users will be able to send peer-to-peer payments to friends, family, and others directly from the app: “Questions like “Can I reimburse you for those movie tickets?” or “What do I owe you for Mom’s gift?” no longer require switching from Skype to your browser or banking app to start a payment process,” the Skype team says. “Starting today, we’re rolling out the ability to send money with PayPal. Using your mobile phone while you’re chatting with friends or family, you can simply swipe right, tap Send Money, and complete the money transfer process.”
How it Works
To run the integration, you will need to be on the latest version of Android and iOS. The company says the first time the Send Money feature is used, Skype users must confirm their location. The Send Money feature must be available in a location for its to work. Users need to link their PayPal account to a Skype profile. Microsoft points out that the ability to send money is only available on the latest Skype application, while any Skype version is compatible with receiving funds. As this is an international release, transactions are available in dollars, pounds, and Euros. Currency changes are applied automatically, as they would be in PayPal.
