PayPal showcases NFC payment for Nexus S Android handsets

PayPal has introduced a wireless payment system which allows Samsung Nexus S owners to perform transactions by touching two smartphones together using near field communications (NFC) technology.

Laura Chambers, senior director of mobile for PayPal, explained in a blog post that the Android payment system is one of several new ways to conduct and process payments being evaluated by the company.

"We've said all along that consumer behaviour won't change unless we're able to offer an experience that's truly better than what's available today," she said.

"We've been looking at NFC technology for a while and we saw a tremendous opportunity to combine the best of NFC and the best of PayPal."

PayPal is one of several companies exploiting the potential of NFC to communicate and conduct transactions via smartphones.

Google teamed up with Citigroup and MasterCard earlier this year to develop a platform for conducting transactions through NFC.

RIM has committed to providing NFC hardware in all its future BlackBerry devices, while O2 has already laid out plans for an NFC payment system in the UK.

Industry analysts also believe that NFC will soon become the dominant form of mobile payment.

One notable absence, thus far at least, has been Apple. The iPhone maker is said to be leaving NFC hardware out of the next version of its flagship smartphone line.