PayPal has just made transferring money a lot easier, particularly for iPhone and iPad users. The online payment service announced this week that it will be integrating with Siri, Apple's voice-controlled digital assistant.
This means that with a simple voice command, Siri will be able to launch the PayPal app to send and request money, as stated in PayPal's blog post. The service was launched on Thursday, Nov.10.
PayPal stated that the feature is a gift to its users just in time for the holiday season, when sending and receiving money is a popular activity online. Holidays are usually a peak time for financial transactions via PayPal.
Some users, however, reported that the service is not running smoothly at the moment. Using it for the first time, Chris Griffith of The Australian wrote that Siri had to ask for access to his PayPal data, and when he said yes, requested permission to go to his contacts.
After he mentioned a name, Siri offered four options with different e-mail addresses and phone numbers. But Siri did not get it right when Griffith picked one of the contacts.
PayPal expects more than 17 million peer-to-peer transactions this December for the holidays. In 2015, $41 billion worth of money transfers were conducted through PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom.
PayPal is not the first online company to use Siri. Using Apple's voice-based assistant has become a subject of intense competition among other tech giants such as Amazon and Google, according to Fortune.
The feature can be used in a variety of languages and is currently available in the United States and 29 other countries across the world, including Australia, China, Japan, Mexico, and European nations.
Have you tried using Siri to send money through PayPal? Share your experience with us in the comments section below!
