PayPal soon to be a payment option at major retail stores

One of the best-known payment processors on the internet recently announced plans to expand its footprint into the physical world by partnering with major national chains.

PayPal, the online payment processing service owned by eBay, recently revealed that it was conducting a test run ofbeing a payment option at 51 Home Depot locations across the country but will likely be available in all of the hardware chain's stores by the end of February, according to a report from Reuters. In addition, executives at the company hope PayPal will be an accepted purchase method at as many as 20 major chains by the end of the year.

This process may be ideal for consumers who want to avoid taking on credit card debt, especially as they work to reduce debt across the board. Consumers will be able to select "PayPal" instead of "credit" or "debit" at checkout, then enter either a phone number linked to their account or swipe a specially-issued PayPal card. After entering a PIN to verify the purchase, the transaction will be complete.

Consumers can tie their PayPal account to a credit card or debit card as a debt consolidation tool, or deposit money into it directly.