PayPal Trials Mobile Shopping in Singapore

Commuters riding the city's subways can scan QR codes on a billboard or poster for exclusive deals.

PayPal this week announced it is running a mobile commerce pilot program in 15 Singapore subway stations that allows commuters to scan QR codes and make purchases through their mobile device.

Writing on the PayPal blog, Elias Ghanem, managing director for PayPal Southeast Asia & India, adds that the merchants participating in the pilot program are offering products related to Valentine's Day, including flowers, chocolates, fashion totes and spa massages for her, and tickets to entertainment shows. The merchants involved in the pilot are Ban Choon Marketing, Charles & Keith, City Tours, EpiCentre, FarEastFlora, Phillip Wain, Resorts World Sentosa, and Showbiz.

According to Ghanem, smartphone penetration in Singapore reached 70 percent last year, and a recent study conducted by PayPal indicated that nearly 7 out of 10 Singaporeans were likely to make a transaction on their mobile phone.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio