PayPal and Citi are partnering up to allow Citi cardmembers to use the digital payment solution either online, within the app, or in a store easily and quickly.
Details of the agreement were not disclosed, but Ralph Andretta, head of US branded cards at Citi, said the company was “thrilled to continue that momentum through a new partnership with PayPal in which two leaders in payments are collaborating to further drive innovation and foster a more seamless payments experience.”
The first deal of its kind
This partnership is a big deal because it’s the first time a big bank has partnered with PayPal to “tokenize” their cards, allowing cardholders to use PayPal for an in-store purchase. Citi has both Mastercard and Visa cards in their portfolio; both will be working with PayPal in this brave new digital world.
Gary Marino, chief commercial officer at PayPal, said the agreement would allow the two companies to “leverage each other’s core assets to create better payment experiences that add value to the lives of consumers and merchants.”
Just the latest tech advance for Citi
This is only one more step for Citi, as they continue to ride the digital tech wave. Recently, they announced several enhancements to the Citi mobile experience. These include new Citi Mobile App functionality and the launch of Citi Pay.
The Citi Mobile App now allows cardmembers to easily dispute charges from within the app, track the delivery of replacement cards when their cards are lost or stolen, and lock their accounts remotely in case their cards are lost or stolen. Citi Pay will be rolled out later in 2017, and will facilitate online, in-store, and in-app payments for consumers across the globe.
PayPal mobile wallet competes with Google, Apple, Android
In terms of the digital payments space, PayPal has been around quite a while. Even people who aren’t up on the latest tech trends have heard of PayPal, and most likely used it. But now they are up against giants like Google, Android, and Apple, which all have mobile wallets on the market. Partnering with Citi may give PayPal a big boost over its competitors, but what will ultimately happen in the mobile wallet game is yet to be seen.
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