SOURCE: The New York Times

PayPal, the electronic payments provider, acquired Card.io, a start-up that offers a way for cellphones to capture credit card information by taking a picture of the card.

PayPal had already been using Card.io’s technology in its mobile app PayPal Here. The company said it decided to buy the start-up because it was impressed with the team.

“While working with them, we were simply blown away by the creativity and drive of their employees,” said Hill Ferguson, vice president of global product at PayPal, in a blog post.

Card.io’s technology is a toolkit for software developers to allow their apps to process credit card information by taking a picture instead of typing in the numbers. PayPal said the toolkit would still be available to developers outside its company.

PayPal is showing a stronger interest in mobile as start-ups like Square and Scvngr pile into the mobile payments market. Last year, PayPal acquired Zong, a start-up that enables mobile payments through carrier billing.