Online payments enabler PayPal today unveiled its first NFC solution for Android devices at the MobileBeat 2011 conference in San Francisco.

The addition of NFC is a big step for PayPal, a company that has already been dealing with mobile payments for some time via apps. Now instead of opening up PayPal’s app and filling out a money transfer on your Android smartphone, you can save time by tapping a payment request into a widget (assuming you own an NFC-equipped phone).

The NFC transfer process is simple (see video below). You can either request to send or request to receive money via the new PayPal widget. Once the request is sent, you simply hold the phones together until they buzz, then enter your PayPal password or mobile PIN, to complete the transfer.

The transaction takes place via an encrypted token between the devices, and it doesn’t touch the NFC secure element, a portion of the NFC chip for storing secure data like credit card information.

PayPal’s new mobile payment service will only work currently in the U.S. with the Samsung Nexus S from Sprint and T-Mobile but will expand to other Android phones that include NFC functionality in the future.