Is PayPal The Fifth Credit Card?
from the but-not-a-bank dept
After working incredibly hard in the legal arena to make sure that they weren't declared a bank, PayPal is now doing much more to appear bank-like to websites that want to take transactions. They're implementing a series of web services designed to make it easier to incorporate a PayPal option for commerce sites, along with traditional credit cards. Of course, some are pointing out that the demand just isn't there for such things. The end-users don't see much benefit if the site already has a merchant account and can offer credit card payments. There isn't much of a benefit to end users to use PayPal when they can just as easily use a credit card. The only advantage is to sites that can't afford or don't want a merchant account of their own - and they're probably already using PayPal.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Credit? Bad Credit? Bankruptcies?
By allowing people to use PayPal, which draws money from their checking account, as if it's a credit card, it makes like simpler for those people who otherwise are locked out of many eCommerce web sites by their lack of a credit card.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Yes, there IS a benefit.
Yes there is. If I'm buying something from JoesOnlineWidgetStore.com, I'd MUCH rather pay with Paypal than trust Joe and his cohorts with my credit card number. I can't be the only one who trusts Paypal more than some random webmaster.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Also it PAYS people
The contributors like it because they can get a check, get it transferred to their bank accounts directly, or just use it on-line if they like.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
yes
[ link to this | view in thread ]