PayPal app launched for iPhone

A new Apple iPhone app enabling users to send money from their handset to someone else's has been launched by PayPal.

The online payments company said Version 2.0 of its Send Money gadget allowed people to simply place their handsets next to each other to transfer funds.

Another feature, Split Cheque, is said to provide an easy and convenient way to divide and reimburse each other for shared expenditure, such as the cost of a meal in a restaurant.

Collect Money, meanwhile, is a request system in case somebody needs to pay for joint gifts or concert tickets, but needs the money from others in the group to do so.

"PayPal Send Money lets consumers access their wallets through their phones," said the firm's vice-president of platform and emerging technology, Osama Bedier.

"With PayPal, the wallet lives in the cloud - the mobile phone is just one device customers can use to access it."

Other popular apps currently available include functions to help users budget monthly spending and manage their stock portfolio.