Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

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Ina Steiner

AuctionBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on
ecommerce and the online auction industry
by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com

November 02, 2009

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

By: Ina Steiner

Mon Nov 2 2009 21:17:58

PayPal's Developers Conference kicks off on Tuesday, and as I report in tomorrow's Newsflash, the company is opening up its platform to third-party developers to encourage innovation. I asked PayPal's Naveed Anwar what this means, exactly, since it appears to be different from the way eBay opened up its platform (eBay seller sees third-party apps when logged into eBay's Selling Manager software).

Naveed said that previously, everything had to be done on PayPal.com, now it can be an inline experience on the developer's website or application. He used the example of PlaySpan's Spare Change application that calls itself a "micro-payments system for social networks." Users can fund their Spare Change account with their credit card, PayPal, bank account or mobile phone. Naveed said PayPal users can add funds to their SpareChange account directly within the application experience, without having to go to the PayPal website.

There has been a lot of talk about virtual goods in gaming and social media applications. Zynga is a company whose name I keep hearing - it operates the Farmville and Mafia Wars games on Facebook. The games are free, but users can also purchase digital goods - Farmville sells more virtual tractors than John Deere sells real ones.

There is a lot of excitement around mobile and social apps, whether it's gaming, socializing, or ecommerce, and PayPal wants to be the payments engine for all of those experiences. I expect some interesting announcements coming out of the PayPal DevCon this week.

Comments (22) | Leave Comment | Permalink

Readers Comments

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Buck Efay

Mon Nov 2 22:05:08 2009

Hey Navid, is paypal going to switch the user funding choices here too? Like when you say pay by credit card & they deduct funds from your bank, causing you overdrafts & fees? Scummy thing to do, and not allowed under PP's merchant agreements, but they do it everyday..

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: tekgems

Mon Nov 2 22:42:04 2009

that's not something pp would do, but sounds more like a user experience or checkout flow issue.

I think it's neat paypal is not going for branding but just the commerce engine behind games. pp should gun for world of Warcraft

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Oh yes they do...

Mon Nov 2 23:14:18 2009

@tekgems: PP's done that to a lot of my customers and to me. It's not unique to any one individual and it's not a checkout flow issue. It's PayPal's MO.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Paypal not my pal

Mon Nov 2 23:17:15 2009

Tekgems, read the Ebay boards regarding this. Paypal makes it very confusing & repeatedly makes you recheck the funding source leading, in very misleading terms. For example, if you notice an error and go back, PP resets you to funding from bank. If you have money on PP, they won't let you choose CC. If you manage to jump thru the hoops & select CC, they have a very confusingly worded popup appear, which makes it seem as if you are confirming CC payment, but then it resets you to bank acct. They do everything they can to avoid you using a CC payment to save CC fees.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: On Lies and Secrets

Tue Nov 3 00:12:00 2009

I think the desire to get involved with gaming and social media commerce is interesting, but I think they are coming way too late to this party. This would have been an innovative decision three years ago. Multiplayer games like Second Life and World of Warcraft generated innovative and interesting types of barter, trade and commerce, but this has been going on for a while now. I think paypal has already missed the boat on this one.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Pete

Tue Nov 3 00:37:37 2009

Paypal is garbage bottom line, full of glitches & on the ebay issues they are so anti seller that their seller protection is a joke...we mail everything registered international mail and loose at least 4-5 claims a month as the so high and mighty Paypal don't recognise REGISTERED MAIL??? Absolutly ridicules..our next option is EMS; that is Paypal recognised and 4 TIMES the cost..idiotic & the day of reconning is approaching fast however powerful they believe they are

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Paul

Tue Nov 3 01:01:04 2009

Pete, I think you are full of the juice of the prune! I send many international packages, some 1st class, and some priority international--which HAS delivery confirmation--and I have never lost a claim on PayPal.

Unfortunate that this comment area is continuously haunted by the same naysayers who decry the horror of eBay and PayPal. Why not start your own ''Death to eBay'' blog and maybe we can see some helpful comments here.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Ming the Merciless

Tue Nov 3 01:09:41 2009

O FEDERAL BANK REGULATOR, WHERE ART THOU?

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Ming the Merciless

Tue Nov 3 01:12:42 2009

@ Paul

Um, excuse me, but you should have noted from the spelling of Pete's post that he's not located in the United States and use British English spelling.

So instead of being so quick with prunes, take note that the United Kingdom. Canada, Australia PayPal requirements are different and that USPS delivery confirmation most certainly isn't applicable in those countries.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Ming the Merciless

Tue Nov 3 01:19:05 2009

PayPal should at least spend one year FIXING their constant error prone platform and bring their policies into compliance with banking laws in the various countries in which they operate.

But no. They've become so like ebay now that they could care less whether existing functionalities function properly or not.

Like ebafia, they thumb their growing nose at the rule of law.

PayPal MUST BE REQUIRED to operate in this country under banking regulations because they've far transcended being a money facilitator or whatever fiction they call themselves.

I will be posting still more information soon about who and where to direct your complaints about PayPal.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Marvin

Tue Nov 3 02:58:35 2009

Most effective complaints against paypal begin with your state.

Paypal is licensed in several states as a money transmitter. Go to your states website and locate the agency that oversees financial institutions and see if they license paypal or contact your state representative for the information. In most every case where a state requires paypal to be licensed you can personally contact an overseer that has direct authority over the way paypal operates. Legitimate complaints that can be documented are taken very seriously and acted upon.

If paypal is not licensed in your state contact your state representative and ask that paypal be required to be licensed as a money transmitter or laws be introduced to offer consumer protection against the way their money is handled.

ebay and paypal are not as immune from the law as you might think. Much is swept under the rug to avoid any negative impact to their corporate image. There is not much room under the rug anymore.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Zots

Tue Nov 3 07:34:19 2009

Hey, great idea. Micro-payments. Now when someone sends me a penny, I can get charged a 30 cent fee for that...

Oh wait, they do that now. Now that's innovation.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Paypal sucks.

Tue Nov 3 11:09:20 2009

One of my friends told me he has lost at least one item a month since PP forced usage since the foreigners will not pay the $30+ it costs for EMS, and he's so desperate to sell he takes his chances & PP supports the crooks everytime.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Fred

Tue Nov 3 12:49:00 2009

"one of my friends told me..."

Yeah right.

He's an idiot if he keeps shipping overseas.

Over 30,000 pp transactions and only lost 5 claims in 5 years.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Ina

Tue Nov 3 13:25:21 2009

PayPal Developers conference is being streamed at X.com.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Paypal sucks.

Tue Nov 3 13:28:16 2009

@fred, Don't worry, I hipped him to Ecrater & Bonanzle this past weekend!
Why is he an idiot? Because he trusted PP to abide by the terms in his listings, or believed PP when they said a customs number was good enough to verify shipping? PP lies!

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Buck Efay

Tue Nov 3 15:44:22 2009

I've had more sales then Fred, and I've lost twice to paypal aided & abetted theft. But those 2 were both preventable if only Paypal had any customer service. I never ever had any kind of fraud issues in 25 years mail order until I was forced to accept this unsafe payment method. Now, I've lost twice as a seller and once as a buyer. I don't trust anything Paypal says.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: I remember X.com

Tue Nov 3 21:36:05 2009

X.com is the original site name of PayPal way before it was purchased by eBay. In those days they paid everyone $5.00 for every referral. It was great....I cleaned up!!

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Paul

Wed Nov 4 01:10:05 2009

@MTM: With so many misspellings who could tell?

In any case, I stand by my opinion that most sellers have very few problems with PayPal, and that most of the complainers here--almost always the same dozen or two--complain about every aspect of dealing with eBay, every time a new topic arises.

Is PayPal Getting into Virtual Currency?

by: Buck Efay

Wed Nov 4 21:28:44 2009

Geez that tends to happen when a group of people are wronged by an entity. The internets finally give power to the people to speak against fraud, injustice, and morally bankrupt companies. Paypal acts in a criminal fashion. They do not follow the rule of the law & need regulation ASAP. Anyone throwing in with them should Google Paypalsucks first, or just put in such phrases as Paypal employee fraud, paypal theft, how to get something free on ebay with paypal, and then post how wonderful Pay NOT MY pal is.

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