Barclays has announced a strategic partnership with PayPal that is designed to enable customers to manage and use their Barclays and PayPal accounts together with greater ease, for the first time, according to a press release. 

Barclays said the partnership is expected to benefit millions of consumer and small business customers, and initially focus on enhancing products and services for consumers in the U.K. and the U.S.

In the U.K., small business customers will also benefit from the partnership with integrated experiences, according to the release.

Consumers are expected to benefit from a raft of new features that will make it even easier to manage their PayPal account in Barclays digital channels, and to use their Barclays products in their PayPal digital wallet to pay online, on mobile or in app.

These may include ways to easily add Barclays credit and debit cards to their PayPal wallet; to update these cards automatically in PayPal when they reach their expiry date; and to display their Barclays card image in the PayPal wallet to allow consumers to easily select their preferred way to pay.

PayPal and Barclays will explore unique ways to connect Pingit and PayPal to improve how customers can move and manage their money. The partnership will also explore opportunities for US consumers to redeem Barclays reward points at businesses that accept PayPal worldwide.