PayPal is expanding coverage of its PayPal Cash program by letting consumers add cash to their accounts at any 7-Eleven store.

The move would make it possible for consumers to deposit cash directly into their PayPal accounts, bypassing ATMs and bank systems, at over 8000 locations around the country. This shows the increasing power of mobile payments to disrupt traditional models of personal finance.

“With over 5 billon payments processed annually, PayPal is a leader in the mobile wallet space,” said Wilson Kerr, vice president of business development and sales at Unbound Commerce. “They are trusted by over 190 Million consumers and this trust is a big portion of the grease on the skids sliding us toward a cashless society.

“By allowing consumers to buy a card with cash and then use it to pre-load a PayPal account, they give consumers a safe, secure ‘bank’ with instant access via any of the 15 Million stores that that accept PayPal, whether that’s online or in-store. The 7-Eleven shopper demographic is one that is perhaps less likely to have a PayPal account already, so this move also drives more sign-ups to PayPal, who see a transaction fee from merchants when PayPal is used to pay for things.”

PayPal Cash
PayPal was one of the first companies to qualify as what we might now call mobile payments, but at the time was conducted mainly through desktop.

Since its debut, mobile payments have come to take on a very different role in society.

Normally, mobile payments come in the form of NFC payments in-store, or as a quick means of checking out when shopping on your phone.

PayPal has done well to keep up with the changing tide of what mobile payments can be, and has now fully committed to acting as a disrupting force to how traditional finance models work.

For so long, the basic model of depositing cash at an ATM or bank has been the standard way of doing things. From there, consumers can pay with that money on a debit card or pay with credit.

Mobile payments have almost always been linked with credit cards or bank accounts.

But PayPals Cash offers a different way of transferring cash to a mobile payment model. With PayPal Cash, consumers can deposit money directly into their PayPal account at any participating PayPal Cash location.

These participating locations now include 7-Eleven.

Disruptive finances
This offers consumers a way of bypassing ATMS altogether and putting their cash directly into a place where it can be used for online or in-store mobile payments.

This is yet another move from PayPal to diversify its offerings, going off of a recent effort the company undertook to improve its usability among business owners with a mobile app designed specifically for them (see story).

“This is a smart move that is literally turning cash into PayPal credit and ushering more people into the mobile cashless future,” Mr. Kerr said.