In a recent TechCrunch article, It was reported that PayPal is going to be making revisions to its mobile application again. For many applications, it is not uncommon to have multiple revisions of an application as consumer demands and needs change organizations to modify their applications to meet their demands. In fact, the PayPal application had gone through a previous revision back in 2016.
The TechCrunch article cites that the reason for the revisions Is to focus on core features and remove other less critical features.
“PayPal is revamping its mobile app. Again. In an effort to keep pace with newcomers like the bank-owned Zelle, PayPal says its new app will focus on making it easier to use its core features – that is, sending and requesting money. That means many of the app’s homescreen buttons – like Offers, Donate, Order Ahead and others are being tucked away underneath a new “More” menu to eliminate some of the clutter.
The PayPal homescreen had gotten a little too busy with all the extra features it has been promoting, which aren’t central to the PayPal experience.”
PayPal is also taking a hard look at its Venmo application and considering removing a feature that allows you to see a running list of payments made from one person to another. Citing a recent Bloomberg article,
“In recent weeks, executives at PayPal Holdings Inc., the parent company of Venmo, were weighing whether to remove the option to post and view public transactions, said a person familiar with the deliberations. It’s unclear if those discussions are still ongoing, and regardless of the outcome, payments between friends would still be visible on the home feed, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.”
I have written about this particular feature of Venmo from the viewpoint of parents using the application to “stalk” their children and note a history lesson from Facebook. When younger generations adopt a new digital platform and their parents become involved the younger generation tends to be more concerned about who views the information they are sharing.
I see this inward reflection as a positive move from PayPal as I no doubt believe that by focusing and enhancing core features and services of an application will only make it a better end user experience.
Overview by Ryan McEndarfer, Editor-in-chief at PaymentsJournal.com