Another reason to never leave
Slack never ceases to amaze me. Admittedly, I only check my channels about once a week and mostly use it to send /catsfacts or abuse the Giphy keyboard. But still, there are more reasons to love Slack than its infinite gif searchability. The company is constantly adding new integrations and bots to draw its users further into its lovingly addictive digital embrace.
PayPal’s very first bot is taking baby steps into the magical world of Slack. With the increasing popularity of the platform, PayPal figured they would give the platform a shot. After all, PayPal has been helping us pay people in unconventional ways for over a decade now. It’s only natural that the company branched out to the workplace productivity tool, another innovative tool that benefits both professionals and all of us regular people.
For social or work
According to PayPal’s site, person-to-person (P2P) payments are the most used feature on PayPal. So now you can send money to your friends and coworkers via PayPal through Slack.
This makes paying people back for food or supplies infinitely easier.
I use Venmo, another P2P app owned by PayPal, and it significantly relieves money-related stress in social situations. If someone offers to cover lunch, I don’t need to plan an escape route if I’m lacking cash. The PayPal bot takes this convenience to Slack now, allowing users to transfer money quickly through the app.
[clickToTweet tweet=”With a simple five-word command, you can make a money transfer to another Slack user.” quote=”With a simple five-word command, you can make a money transfer to another Slack user.”]
Of course, you both need to have PayPal already set up. You also need to make sure Slack is authorized on your PayPal account, otherwise the payment won’t go through. Other than that, the PayPal bot is truly as simple as typing a few words.
It’s not all sunshine and unicorn poop
However, it’s not completely magical. As CNET so unfortunately discovered, the PayPal bot charges a fee for those using credit cards. Although credit card surcharges on PayPal’s platforms are not unprecedented, it’s always a bit of a bummer when not everything about a free app is free. However, paying from a bank account or balance is free for both parties.
While PayPal is available worldwide, its bot is only offered for Slack users in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. If you’re looking for other ways to easily pay your friends and coworkers back but hate carrying cash or aren’t a Slack user, try out Venmo, Google Wallet, or Square Cash.
For those of us finding ourselves more immersed in Slack every day, check out PayPal on the App Directory.
