PayPal has announced an initiative that will allow users of its app to make faster online transactions by minimising the hassle around entering user IDs, passwords and card details.

One Touch PayPal is now in beta with select US merchants before becoming available to all of those using the Braintree v.zero SDK and all PayPal app users in coming weeks.

The initiative is the work of Braintree, an innovative payments firm acquired last year by PayPal parent eBay for $800 million.

Braintree last year launched an app called Venmo Touch whose aim was to remove a major friction in mobile transactions  – typing in card numbers and passwords – while maintaining security.

PayPal talked up Venmo Touch as “an industry-first, one touch buying experience enabling consumers to pay across apps without having to log in – even on the first purchase”. Now the payments giant is trying to spread its capability to a wider audience.