Comments on: PayPal's Fate Now Rests With Developers

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:47:54 +0000

The payment systems and technology they use isn’t going to be that much more different than what most developers are used to these days, nearly everyone in this business knows php and mysql, a developer is going to be more inclined to create his own online payment system.

By: PayPal’s Fate Now Rests With Developers | Digital Media Buzz

PayPal’s Fate Now Rests With Developers | Digital Media Buzz — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:31:43 +0000

[...] By: Gigaom.com [...]

By: coldbrew

coldbrew — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:43:16 +0000

My reference to censorship was regarding the message, “Your comment is awaiting moderation” that appeared after making my comment. Are you unaware this is how the system works on the site for which you write?

While I understand this may be helpful for individuals making a first-time comment on the site, it is a nuisance and an insult for those of us that are returning and, obviously, not spammers. I believe this is a simple concept to understand.

It may be believed within your organization that readers of this blog participate as a privilege. If that is the case, please let me, and others, know so we can make informed decisions on whether to ever visit the site. My understanding is that blogs are a two-way conversation, if that isn’t the stance taken by GigaOm I’ll just put your site in my hosts file and be done with it (as I have with that rag at RWW). The tech community needs folks with backbones, not the ‘kudos krowd’ that is so prevalent.

By: Kevin Kelleher

Kevin Kelleher — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:25:21 +0000

Dave,

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree Apple and the other companies are a bigger threat right now, but PayPal does have an edge over many of them by letting you bypass credit card accounts altogether. I for one look forward to the day I won’t need any credit card account. My own impression, based on conversations I’ve had with eBay executives and investors, was that in the past credit cards were more of a competitor.

Kevin

By: Kevin Kelleher

Kevin Kelleher — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:19:29 +0000

jd,

You’re right on BillMeLater. Two sloppy errors in one post is embarrassing, and I apologize to all of GigaOm readers, who should expect better.

Comments by eBay executives in last week’s conference call suggested that BillMeLater contributed to the new top 100 sites.

Kevin

By: Kevin Kelleher

Kevin Kelleher — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:14:00 +0000

coldbrew,

Nokia bought a stake in Obopay in March, not the company. Thanks for catching the error, I’ll make sure it’s fixed in the story. As for your comments on censorship, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.

Kevin

By: jd

jd — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:05:34 +0000

It’s called “BillMeLater”, it was acquired after Paypal had closed most of those Top 100 ecommerce sites and it has just been a drag and distraction for Paypal.

By: thatsanjoseguy

thatsanjoseguy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:54:56 +0000

PP’s battle is to get consumers to *not* use cc’s – they make nothing from those transactions, since they’re kicking back the fees to Visa, et al. Competition with other payment gateways is meaningless, as is developer use of their API’s. They need people to use bank accounts for funding.

By: coldbrew

coldbrew — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:16:39 +0000

Screen caps taken, censorship documented. I am truly surprised at such conduct. i suppose I have more material now, so I shouldn’t complain. It’s just sad.

By: coldbrew

coldbrew — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:05:25 +0000

Awesome! Every comment I make needs moderation? I don’t need to comment here or visit. In case you were wondering about who needs who, I’ll just comment on TC, and if they continue to moderate so heavily, they’ll lose too. RWW is a complete joke b/c they can’f handle corrections or criticism. Does GO need the same lack of transparency? We’ll make our own press, if you all can’t handle it. It isn’t the press that’s being empowered by tech. I welcome the challenge of censorship. Your move.

By: coldbrew

coldbrew — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:56:00 +0000

Really? No response to the idea that Obopay wasn’t acquired, but funded?

McClure seems lost in conflicts (as always), so no wonder. Are you still reporting Nokia owns all of Obopay? If so, great fact-checking.

You expect respect from this how?

By: Walter

Walter — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:55:57 +0000

I have lost almost $1000 dollars to Paypal because of scammers. Despite giving Paypal overwhelming evidence that the dispute should be resolved in my favour I’ve still not received a penny back.

The problem is a lot of my transactions must take place through Paypal as at the moment there is no alternative which is used so widely for small everyday transactions.

Walter

By: coldbrew

coldbrew — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:30:43 +0000

My understanding was that Nokia invested in Obopay and has a partnership with Obopay, but did not acquire the company. Do you have a link for that?

I think it is also important to point out that Mastercard, Visa, and Discover all went public in the last few years, and AMEX became a depository institution (aka bank). On the merchant side, FirstData went private (acquired by KKR for ~$30B).

Will PayPal ever become a bank in the US? Will PayPal ever offer more competitive pricing for processing fees?

By: Dave McClure

Dave McClure — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:47:11 +0000

hmm… Kevin: i really don’t think PayPal’s primary battle is with cc companies. more likely, it’s with Amazon, Google, Apple, & Facebook — for the title of mainstream consumer online payment service.

in the past, we worried about Amazon (rightfully so… they’ve executed very well) and then Google Checkout (initially scared the shit out of us, perhaps now not so much). more recently, Apple now looks like an interesting option, and starting soon Facebook as well. both are now rising as large aggregators of consumer financial payment services — initially for their own services, but then later for 3rd parties.

[disclosure: i used to work at PayPal from 2001-2004 where i started & ran the PayPal Developer Network program]