Mobile technologies are changing the way we do a lot of things, from reading books to taking photos to consuming news. Now, a new service being rolled out by PayPal and Erply promises to change the way you pay for your haircut, among other things.
Rudy’s, the popular Seattle, LA and Portland barbershop chain, is one of the new customers that plans to test out a mobile technology allowing customers to pay the barber with a “check-in” on their mobile phone.
Users must first download the PayPal iPhone app, and after logging in click the “local” button in order to select the retail locations. Here’s how Erply explains the next steps:
Shoppers will slide the “pin” down to let the store know that they have arrived. To pay at checkout, the consumer will simply say they want to pay with PayPal. The shopper will automatically be checked out of the store and receive a receipt via email.
What are the benefits of paying this way? Retailers not only get exposure through the PayPal app, but they also can better track what people buy — say the hair care products in the case of Rudy’s — or their patterns — like the frequency of their haircuts. The companies also suggest that it could reduce fraud, eliminating bounced checks or stolen credit cards.
Consumers, on the other hand, don’t have the hassle of fiddling with cash or credit cards.
Rudy’s CEO Vy Le said that the new mobile payment service will go into effect next month at all of its locations, allowing individuals to pay via their PayPal accounts. This marks the first time that Rudy’s has set up mobile payments, with Lee saying that it should protect against fraud and help customers check out faster.
“This is a great way to have everything in one place, and have a quick and convenient way of checking out,” Le tells GeekWire. “For us, it is really about us allowing our customers a different way of paying…. It is the convenience factor.”
PayPal has such a huge install base that Le said the functionality has been on the barbershop chain’s wish list for some time.
“Mobile payments is the new wave of paying for things, and I think it is going to be a great option for us to start it off with something as secure as PayPal,” she said. “Google Wallet is new. A lot of these mobile wallets are new, but PayPal, you know, it is going to have privacy, it is going to have security. It is a known, trusted entity, so for us we feel secure in having that option for our customers.”
