Canvas, a  mobile apps provider for collecting and sharing business information, today announced a collaboration with PayPal that enables businesses to collect payment within any Canvas business app, according to a press release. 

With PayPal's now integrated into the Canvas platform, the company said its subscribers building and using mobile apps for a broad range of business processes can now add mobile payment functionality as well, enabling them to authenticate and accept payments via mobile devices and create fully customizable payment processes.

Using PayPal Here on the Canvas platform, business users can accept credit cards and debit cards in person, plus track cash and check payments—right from a tablet or smartphone, whether they're in their shop or on the road.

"Forrester Research projects U.S. mobile payments will hit $142 billion in 2019, and while mobile payments offer enhanced payer convenience, the integration of mobile payments with data collection and cloud storage offers a yet-untapped opportunity to unlock the value of mobile transaction data for both the customer and vendor in ways never previously possible,” said James Quigley, co-founder and CEO of Canvas. "With $64.3 billion in total payment volume for 2014, PayPal operates at the forefront of the digital payments revolution, and we are thrilled to now offer Canvas business customers this mobile payment capability."

By linking mobile payments to Canvas' cloud-based software service,  the company said insightful customer information can be stored and leveraged to change the way businesses interact with customers. For example, businesses can use transaction data during and after the point-of-sale to generate custom-branded digital receipts for retention and loyalty programs. These receipts can include unique content such as photos, coupons, social media calls-to-action, website URLs, and more, according to the announcement.