Mobile Payment Services Scramble with Offers for Holiday Season

Within less than 2 financial quarters since their launch, mobile payment platforms are already scrambling to provide competitive holiday season offers.

While for many shoppers the final verdict on adopting mobile payment platforms is still yet to come, but for the holiday seasons it seems that this method is at least cheaper than many to say the least.

While Apple Pay is yet to announce any major offers, PayPal and Google Wallet are offering deals and discounts to bring customers closer. Shoppers need to pay for goods in stores using a smartphone or can do so online using their respective platforms. The deals are available at major stores which also include Sephora and Home Depot. The promotions come as competitive move to take advantage of the holiday seasons as competition between mobile payment service providers intensify.

To take advantage while shopping online, customers need to have an account with either service by linking a credit card or debit card. A payment through PayPal or Google Wallet often means faster checkouts at e-commerce sites.
At stores, there’s no need to swipe a credit card or take out cash, just a few taps on a smartphone app or hovering the smartphone over a register, and the transaction is done.

PayPal is offering email alerts for deals throughout the holiday season. Shoppers who use PayPal at Toys R Us, Home Depot, Famous Footwear and teen retailer Aeropostale, can get $5 off when they spend $25 in the stores through Dec. 15.

Shoppers who use Google Wallet to buy a gift card for someone else at select retail websites, will receive a $5 gift card for themselves. The retailers include makeup seller Sephora, office supply retailer Staples, natural foods grocer Whole Foods and movie theater chain Regal Cinemas. That deal ends Dec. 26. Buyers get the $5 gift emailed to them, and then have to save it to their Google Wallet account.

Unfortunetly Apple has disappointed its Pay usersApple Pay users as it isn’t offering any holiday discounts. But its partners such as JP Morgan Chase are advertising some perks which may interest some of its users.
All the services promote their potential safety benefits which has been a call for them since their respective inceptions. Consumers may be concerned about their personal data after data breaches at Home Depot, Target and other major retailers, but these services note that personal data is only stored in their system and isn’t shared with every retailer that their customers purchase from which helps curb any personal losses during hacks.