Skype links up with PayPal for money transfers through app

Skype PayPal Send MoneySkype has teamed up with PayPal to introduce a feature that enables users to transfer funds to friends and family while chatting to them on the Skype app.

The ‘Send Money’ feature is accessed by swiping right while chatting to someone and tapping on the ‘Send Money’ button. The first time the feature is used, the user is asked to confirm their location to make sure they are in one of the places were the feature has been rolled out. If so, they will then need to link their PayPal account to their Skype profile.

The person sending money must be using the latest version of the Skype app on either Android or iOS. The person receiving the funds can be using any version of Skype, but must have a PayPal account and be in one of the 22 countries where the feature has been rolled out.

“We’re excited to announce that PayPal is now partnering with Skype to allow users in 22 countries to send money to other Skype users with PayPal via their Skype mobile app,” said John Kunze, VP of global consumer product & Xoom at PayPal, in a post. “With over 1bn Skype mobile downloads to data globally, users will be able to use PayPal directly from their Skype app to seamlessly send money in the moment – like for a gift for a family member across the country or internationally.”

The 22 countries where the feature is available are: the US, the UK, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.