Mobile payment processes have long been the bane of would-be mobile commerce titans. The balance between security and ease of use has been difficult to achieve, but Paypal's beta partners for Mobile Checkout Express have seen great results from using the product so far.
Starbucks, one initial partner for Mobile Checkout Express, will use Paypal's newest mobile payment product to let customers quickly reload their Starbucks Cards from within the company's iPhone app.
Mobile Checkout Express will allow users to opt into the service and stay logged in between various mobile apps.
Paypal says the new product is also easy to use for existing merchants who already use Paypal Express Checkout on their web-based stores.
Many of Paypal's beta-tester merchants for Mobile Express Checkout have reported double-digit sales growth on their mobile stores since adding the feature. Paypal plans to give Mobile Checkout Express merchants the ability to accept credit card payments in addition to PayPal (through a VeriFone partnership) in early 2011.
In other mobile news, Paypal is introducing new location-based features for the 3.0 version of its iPhone app, allowing users to find nearby businesses that accept Paypal. The feature, called Paypal Local, will initially be available in the San Francisco Bay Area and will roll out to other locations soon.