PayPal Acquires Mobile Payment System Card.io, Adds “Photo Card Processing”

PayPal on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Card.io, a mobile payment system that allows users to take a picture of a credit card to process information, removing the need to scan the credit card.

To use the system a users simply takes a picture of a credit card or debit card and the system grab the cards details for processing. The system removes the need to swipe the credit card using the magnetic strip through a portable reader.

Paypal recently launched Square competitor Paypal Here which allows users to attach a small device to their mobile devices in order to accept mobile credit card payments.

Card.io works without any additional hardware required, users simply snap a photo from the front of the card and the system processes payments through a third-party payment system. Once the charge is approved or denied the card photo is deleted to avoid fraud charges.

It is still to be seen if card users will see the app with its picture-taking capabilities as a threat to their personal financial security.

The company’s Android App already allows for fund transfer between phones however it has yet to institute in-store purchase capabilities.

Hill Ferguson, Vice President of Global Product, PayPal wrote of the acquisition:

“The card.io team is joining PayPal for the same reasons that the Zong team was excited to join PayPal last year – to get the opportunity to work on projects that will accelerate innovation at a scale that’s just not possible at a startup.”

How Card.io will be integrated with PayPal’s suite of mobile products is not yet known.

On its own website Card.Io assures developers that its platform will remain open:

“The card.io SDKs will remain available for developers to use in their applications.”

Paypal’s mobile platform has already reached agreements with 15 big box retailers, a sign that more users and company’s are gravitating towards mobile payments.