New PayPal Android SDK Coming May 15

When it comes to digital payments online, the clear leader in the arena is PayPal. Much of the success PayPal, at least early on, can be attributed to its close ties with eBay and fact that pretty much every transaction on eBay uses PayPal. PayPal has announced that it will be launching a new Android SDK for developers on May 15.

That means tomorrow, the new software development kit will be available for Android developers and it promises to make it easier for the developers to accept in-app payments via Android. Developers on the iOS platform had access to a similar SDK about two months ago. PayPal had promised Android developers that they would get their own version of the SDK soon when the iOS version launched.

The new PayPal Android SDK supports Android version 2.2 and up. The new Android payment solution will allow developers to accept payments via PayPal and via credit cards. PayPal believes that giving users the option to pay quickly and easily via their PayPal account or by scanning a credit card will lure more customers into paying developers for their work.

PayPal says that offering two forms of payment via the SDK "removes payment friction so developers can focus on creating amazing experiences." With more and more apps watching that are supported by in-app purchases, easy payment systems are a necessity for developers.

PayPal says that it is also offering security features that will allow developers to "significantly reduce" fraud they encounter with payments. The one downside to this new SDK is that it likely means an increasing number of freemium applications. Getting an interesting game or app for free only to realize that you have to spend money in the game to make it playable frustrates everyone.

SOURCE: TheNextWeb