PayPal has unveiled version 2.0 of its Send Money application, which gives iPhone and iPod touch customers secure mobile access to their money worldwide.

The features of the new PayPal Send Money application include Bump money transfers, Split Check and Collect Money. Smartphone sales surpassed 172.4 million units in 2009, consumers worldwide are expected to spend $119 billion by 2015 through their mobile phones, and PayPal mobile transactions have increased nearly six-fold, from $25 million in 2008 to $141 million in 2009.  

“We’ve expanded our mobile platform to include the Send Money iPhone app because we have seen interest and usage consistent with our expectations,” said Eric Duprat, general manager of mobile at PayPal, San Jose, CA. “Mcommerce is finally here—it’s already big and growing exponentially.

“The future of money is mobile: The wallet you carry in your pocket today will be in the cloud tomorrow, and mobile is how you’ll access it,” he said. “In fact, mobile is the new Web—it will replace PCs as the primary means Americans access the Internet over the next three years.

“Mobile phones are increasingly becoming the main way consumers will connect to the Internet—mobile payments continue to be a priority for PayPal and sending money via mobile services is key to that success.”

PayPal, an eBay company, lets members send money without sharing financial information, with the flexibility to pay using their account balances, bank accounts, credit cards or promotional financing.

With more than 81 million active accounts in 190 markets and 24 currencies worldwide, PayPal enables global ecommerce and mobile commerce.

Bump, split and collect
With “bump to send money,” users can put two iPhones together, and funds are quickly transferred between their PayPal accounts.

PayPal worked with Bump Technologies to enable the feature of bumping iPhones to transfer funds immediately.

The Split Check feature lets users divide the bill and reimburse each other for the cost of a meal, including tip and tax, for up to 20 people.

Collect Money lets users request money from multiple people for everything from a joint gift and team dues to concert and sports tickets.

Users can send gifts of money on the spot for birthdays, anniversaries or any moment of impulsive generosity.

PayPal Send Money lets consumers access their wallets through their phones, because with PayPal, the wallet lives in the cloud—the mobile phone is just one device customers can use to access it.

With the new PayPal Send Money application, users can set reminders for recurring payments, donate money to their favorite causes and manage their PayPal accounts, all from the iPhone.

For international transactions, the application also features a global currency calculator and 15 languages.

PayPal Send Money requires a PIN or password for every transaction to help prevent unauthorized use.

The application is now available to download for free in Apple’s iTunes or the App Store from any iPhone or iPod touch.  

The 2.0 version of the Send Money application will also be available soon for Google’s Android and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones.

Send Money 2.0 will be available on additional platforms in the near future.

The target demographic for the application is anyone looking to send money, has an e-mail address and is located in the nearly 100 markets where Apple’s App Store is available.

“Send Money is essentially for the rapidly growing group of smartphone-using people on the go, who are using their mobile devices to take care of daily tasks, such as payments,” Mr. Duprat said.