With the Samsung Galaxy S5 being released, PayPal is keeping its promise of utilizing the fingerprint reader on the S5 when PayPal announced the feature at the 2014 Mobile World Congress. PayPal has released their apps this Friday which were specifically designed for use with the S5 and Galaxy Gear wearables. However, Samsung devices are not the only ones that can use the new app.
Instead of typing in a username and password, you can just type your username, and with a simple swipe of your finger across the scanner, you will be logged in instantly to make payments either online, or at select brick and mortar stores. This feature did not exist until these devices were released. PayPal"s newest app will allow Samsung Galaxy Gear 2, and Gear Fit smartwatch users to make payments, redeem offers, and receive payment notifications on the fly.
It is unfortunate that this feature would be released following the report of the HeartBleed security flaw, which has been rumored to have been exploited by the NSA. That being said, LastPass shows that PayPal has not been affected by this vulnerability.
Source: PayPal via GigaOm | PayPal image via Shutterstock