Owe Someone Money? Just Bump Your Phones

People have predicted the death of cash and checks for a long time. But there are certain transactions — like paying a friend back for dinner or buying vegetables at the farmers’ market — for which they remain essential.

PayPal’s new iPhone application could finally change that. It promises to let you quickly divide a restaurant bill and send a friend the portion you owe just by bumping your iPhones together.

The application is free to download from the App Store. Users log in with their PayPal credentials or with their cellphone number and a numeric PIN, and they can send or request money and manage their account on the phone.

To send money, users choose a recipient from their cellphone contacts or bump two phones together. For that, the app uses technology from Bump Technologies, which developed it to swap contact information between two phones. The money is transferred immediately.

The app includes a feature to help split a check, factoring in tax and tip and whether someone owes more than the others at the table. Payments are free from a bank or PayPal account, and there are varying fees if the payer uses a credit card.

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