Submitted by Bob Bhatnagar on
The PayPal iPhone app already makes it convenient to access your account and transfer money on-the-go. Two people can even bump iPhones to exchange currency between two accounts. Now PayPal will add check depositing capabilities to an impending app update.
By simply taking a photo of your check with the iPhone camera, you'll be able to deposit the money directly to your PayPal account. Of course PayPal isn't the first to launch this technology in an iPhone app. USAA Bank and Chase have both integrated check scanning into their mobile apps.
Bank of America and Citibank are said to be working on their own version of the check depositing tool as well. PayPal expects that $500 million will change hands among its account holders on mobile devices in 2010 alone. Taking a photo of the front and back of your check will be possible within the next few days when the updated PayPal app is released via iTunes.
Other companies have released transaction solutions for the iPhone, including credit card processing technology. Square uses a small device plugged into the iPhone headphone jack to read magnetic stripes when processing credit card transactions. Mophie and Intuit have recently entered the game with their own combined software and hardware credit card processing tool dubbed the Complete Card Solution.
What's clear is that as financial iPhone apps continue to be developed, checking your balance in the field becomes more convenient. Users will have to pay attention to security and make sure there's plenty of money in that PayPal account before making mobile purchases. Just deposit another check!