PayPal is upping its estimates of the amount of mobile payments transactions using the technology this year; doubling the estimate to $3 billion in mobile total payments volume (TPV) in 2011.
PayPal says that the rate at which people are using the payments technology to buy items via their mobile phones is growing rapidly and this is actually the third time the company has had to update its numbers. At years end in 2010, PayPal predicted $1.5 billion in mobile payments and in February, the company revised this to $2 billion.
Last year, mobile payments were up 300 percent from the previous year, so PayPal could exceed the growth rate from 2010.
PayPal is also seeing up to $10 million in mobile TPV a day, which is up from $6 million PayPal reported in March. The company currently has eight million customers who are regularly making purchases on their mobile phones, up from a previously reported six million users.
Of course, PayPal is probably feeling heat from the competition. Notably, Google just unveiled its mobile payments system, Google Wallet. Square has been growing rapidly, and is tackling local, an area where PayPal has not had much success in. Who knows, Facebook may even throw its hat in the ring.
But the fact remains that PayPal’s payments business is still widespread and growing. The mobile payments race will certainly be entertaining.