PayPal Mobile App Lets Customers Order Ahead For Restaurant Visits

A new update to the PayPal mobile app for iOS and Android devices has made restaurant ordering easier than ever.

The new update unveiled on Monday allows customers to order their food ahead of arrival, thereby avoiding long waits during busy eating times.

The new PayPal pre-order feature was tested in early 2013 and is made possibly via a partnership with Eat24.

The service is currently available at more than 1,000 restaurants. Restaurants must accept PayPal payments and be partnered with Eat24 in order to take advantage of the new feature.

That’s not all PayPal has added into the mix. Customers can now use a new “Shop” tab to find nearby stores that accept PayPal. Customers can also check-in as they do with Foursquare and other location based services.

PayPal also now allows customers to add new credit cards to their accounts by taking pictures of those cards.

PayPal has already partnered with thousands of retail locations including Abercrombie & Fitch, The Home Depot, and Toys “R” Us.

The goal, of course, is to get every retailer big and small accepting PayPal payments. By doing so, the company can use its technical know-how to create a system that benefits non-traditional paying customers.

With NFC, Google Wallet, and various other forms of payments emerging on the open market, the team at PayPal has done a pretty good job of attracting new retail client early-on in the game.

Most recently, the PayPal Here platform launched to take on Square Payments and other non-traditional credit card processors.

Do you plan on using the new PayPal pre-order food service for your next restaurant excursion?