Fist-Bump Money Transfers? PayPal App Update Makes It So.

Do you remember the billionth app downloaded on the App Store? It was Bump, a free app that lets you swap pictures and contact info by bumping two iPhones together. The concept was simple, the app was cheap, and lo and behold: people like gimmicks. For a while, Bump was a chart-topper.

PayPal has long had a free app on the App Store, which provided mundane features like managing your PayPal account. (Who needs that?) But recently, they added a new feature: just like Bump, PayPal's app now allows you to exchange things by simply bumping phones. The difference is that PayPal lets you actually exchange money with the person you're bumping phones with.

It looks like a gimmick on the surface, but the feature is actually pretty useful. If you're using an iPhone and have a PayPal account, you can download the app from anywhere and quickly complete a transaction. The process is painless, requires no exchange of information, and it's free. What more could you want?

It's a neat feature, that's for sure. I can just see it now: instead of paying the normal way, you'll bump fists with an iPhone clenched in your fingers. Passersby will stare in bafflement, but that's okay—because you'll know that you're at the cutting-edge of technology. Yeah, you could pay for stuff in cash, but this is the twenty-first century!

Yeah, it's silly, but it's still cool. And there's nothing wrong with that. If you have a PayPal account, it's probably worth downloading the free app just to manage your account and check your balance. And, hey, if the opportunity arises...bump-money-transfers are the way to go.