PayPal Extends 'Instant Checkout' to Bigcommerce

PayPal's plan to expand its OneTouch instant checkout service has shifted into high gear via an update that will support all merchants using the e-commerce platform Bigcommerce.

Bigcommerce's 90,000 merchants will be able to use OneTouch's simpler ID technology, and can also access e-commerce through an integration with Braintree's v.zero software development kit. Consumers will be able to make payments through native mobile apps through these integrations, even if they don't have the PayPal app installed on their smartphone or tablet. Square has also broadened its e-commerce reach through a partnership with Bigcommerce.

One Touch allows consumers to pay without user IDs and passwords after they log in once. The technology is used in Venmo, a social payments platform that Braintree owned, and includes tools that are transferrable to other types of digital payments.

PayPal is relying on mobile and e-commerce technology to distinguish itself as an independent company once it splits from eBay, a process that's expected to be complete by the third quarter. PayPal's focus on the faster pace of technology is designed to allow the payment company to address the pressure that merchants face to serve their customers over an increasingly diverse number of channels.

PayPal processes about 12.5 million payments daily, the company reported Thursday. But the real potential is larger, and resides in the convergence of online and brick and mortar commerce through mobile experiences, a market that's worth $25 trillion, said Dan Schulman, who will become PayPal's CEO after its split from eBay.

"This convergence has profound implications," Schulman said during a presentation Thursday that was posted to PayPal's website.  "It’s not simply about tapping your phone to pay instead of handing over cash or a swiping card. It’s about reinventing how people spend and save, and making it simpler and safer to move and manage money."