PayPal plans to expand mobile business after BlackBerry App World deal

BusinessWeek is reporting that EBay is set to announce that its PayPal online payment platform will make more initiatives into the mobile market. PayPal recently announced an alliance with RIM which allows customers to purchase applications for BlackBerry smartphones using PayPal in the new BlackBerry App World mobile application store. According to company insiders, the company will announce the plans during its annual analyst meeting on March 11.

PayPal senior Vice-President Jack Stephenson told BusinessWeek that the company is working on making PayPal available on lower-end phones without data connectivity, and possibly for people who don't have access to credit cards or bank accounts. Stephenson told the business magazine that these kinds of consumers could have money direct deposited from employers into their PayPal accounts, or could purchase pre-paid PayPal cards at shops.

PayPal will also announce plans for a software developers' kit that will make it easier for developers to use the payment platform. The company hopes to release the SDK this year