In May 2012, PayPal made a commitment to sign-up a total of 20 large national retailers by the end of 2012 for its instore payments platform, in which consumers pay for items using a physical 'Access' card or by punching a mobile phone number and PIN into the terminal.

Reporting from the National Retail Federation show in the US, PayPal says that it exceeded its target and signed deals with 23 large retailers representing 18,000 bricks and mortar locations nationwide.

Don Kingsborough, VP, retail services at PayPal, says: "We believe that by bringing value to the checkout experience 'every day' with proven technology that is simple, fast, and secure and offering true benefits such as coupons, rewards and loyalty, we've uncovered a winning solution when people pay. No bells, whistles or buzzes - just technology that works and gets the most from your money."

PayPal has eschewed the NFC-based mobile wallet approach taken up by rivals such as Google, and the Isis telco consortium, preferring to see the mobile phone as a ubiquitous tool that can be serviced from the cloud to simplify the shopping experience for consumers.

Says Kingsborough: "Some of the competition has stumbled with alternative technology offerings that don't address true customer pain points - they have created technology, just for technology's sake. We just want you to pay how you want; simple, fast and secure - with any method you want."