PayPal jabs Apple ahead of iPhone 6 launch with full-page NYT ad

PayPal has taken a leaf out of Samsung’s ‘have a dig at Apple’ playbook by splashing out on a full page ad in the New York Times as a pre-emptive strike against iOS 8‘s upcoming Apple Pay NFC contactless payment service.

The ad itself references the recent celebrity iCloud leaks, suggesting that information as valuable as payment details should be left to more secure companies. Companies like PayPal, for example.

You could argue that PayPal is a little spooked. After all, while Android devices have had NFC for longer than we can remember (and while flagship Samsung Galaxy devices integrate PayPal fingerprint verification for online purchases), Apple’s packing some very big, very persuasive guns to sway the masses.

It’s not the first time it’s taken a shot at Apple either. PayPal’s Sr. Director of Communication Rob Skinner previously told TechRadar that “it’s much more difficult to do payments than to keep a live stream working”, referring to the streaming problems Apple faced during its launch event earlier this month.

The Cupertino tech giant has partnered up with 22,000 US retailers and eight of the top banks and credit card companies, building a solid platform ripe for adoption – a platform in which it’ll nab 15 cents from every US$100 from the banks for each transaction

But it still won’t be a easy. PayPal already has a customer base of 50 million people, and Apple’s mobile payment war efforts require people to buy an iPhone 6, 6 Plus or an Apple Watch for it to grow. Though we can’t see shifting numbers being a problem, if past launches are anything to go by.

Other large US retailers like Best Buy and Walmart won’t be supporting Apple Pay either which is another obstacle it has to face.

We’ll have to wait and see how the mobile payment war pans out though, so grab some popcorn and join us on the sidelines.

READ MORE: Apple iPhone 6 hands-on review

[via Pando]

Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.