Slack users will now be able to send money without necessarily having to leave their preferred work chat platform. They can now make use of a new bot that was launched by Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL). The bot lets people send peer-to-peer (P2P) payments through a user’s Slack handle and a short code provided by PayPal.
PayPal’s first bot release comes after an uptick in P2P payments
This is the first time that PayPal is engaging in bots. However, it is old enough for the integration of larger communication services. It is already part of Square Cash and Venmo which collaborates with Siri to allow for P2P payments. Alongside Stripe, PayPal has joined the beta program, a Facebook Messenger, which accepts payments through the platform. Slack users in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada are currently able to use the PayPal bot so long as it is installed. However, there must be a linkage of the PayPal account to a transaction setting of one’s preference.
PayPal says that there was a 42% increase in P2P transactions in 2015 given that $41 billion was processed in P2P volume across PayPal. The idea behind PayPal’s bot is to quicken peer-to-peer payments between co-workers for example when they have to share cab fare cost, group gifts or when splitting lunch.
Slack has more than 5 million daily users
From the many messaging apps that have cropped up, Slack has won a significant number of daily users of no less than 5 million. This may have been one of the major triggers for choosing to launch a bot. Nonetheless, ahead of the company’s speculated growth and expansion, it is likely that PayPal will aggressively institute itself as the payments service of choice for Slack users.
Above all else, Slack has also expressed its ambitions towards Enterprise Grid, which is a product aimed at large corporations. It now remains to be seen what other engagements that PayPal is likely to take. Meanwhile, PayPal’s stock was trading at $40.02 witnessing an increase of $0.28 or 0.70%.