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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.
Reader Comments
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No Credit? Bad Credit? Bankruptcies?
A lot of people don't have credit cards but still have internet access and would like to be able to shop online.
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.
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No Subject Given
If a site already has a merchant account then it will be hard to get them to switch. However, for new sites the financial advantage is huge. It's a costly pain to work with Visa/MC - PayPal is a snap and the fees are LOW in comparison.
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Yes, there IS a benefit.
> There isn't much of a benefit to end users to use PayPal< br>> when they can just as easily use a credit card.
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.
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Also it PAYS people
The other side of Paypal is that you can use it to PAY individuals. I pay some of the authors who contribute to my website, for example. The payment is small, typically $10 - $40.00 per month, and I don't want the hassle of sending them checks.
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.
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yes
FUCK PAYPAL
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