Under the deal, PayPal will be offered as one of a menu of options to consumers subscribing to NCR's Mobile Pay app, which is used by restaurants, convenience stores and petrol stations. PayPal also plans to give NCR access to its own mobile apps, to provide consumers with coupons and loyalty offers from the eftpos maker's retailer network, which reaches 50% of the major retail chains in the US and 38% of the top 100 restaurants.

The arrangement will give PayPal a major leg-up against competitors such as Google and Square as it bids to put its payment technology in the hands of consumers on the high street. Yesterday the company announced that it had signed deals with 23 major US retailers to incorporate Paypal as a payment option at 18,000 stores across the US.

Separately, PayPal is testing an order-ahead feature for iPhone users at the Jamba Juice in Emeryville, California. With this feature users can choose a pick-up-time in store, and pay with PayPal at the point of order, skipping the queues on arrival. Emeryville is the first Jamba Juice location to try the programme, with others to follow in 2013, says PayPal.