One might wonder why an online seller would need yet another online payment method with all the services currently out there, but offering customers a way to pay that is convenient and comfortable to them can help increase conversion rates.

Blogger Michael Arrington wrote on his TechCrunch blog on Wednesday that Amazon.com is about to announce its own online payment service, and indeed, some are likely wondering why they haven't already.


more.. link to news article

i thought they had one already? and i thought ya hadda use it to sell on their site?

I like Amazon and I feel comfortable shopping there. I think I'd use it.

Related article:

more.. link to news article

wonder if ebay will ban that one too?


i notice all the payment services which have come along lately do NOT hold funds in an "account" fer ya. as a seller, i like that...but i know that holding those funds is how paypal makes tons of money; so i wonder if the noobs will last.

nopaypal wrote (View Post): › i notice all the payment services which have come along lately do NOT hold funds in an "account" fer ya. as a seller, i like that...but i know that holding those funds is how paypal makes tons of money; so i wonder if the noobs will last.

Actually I like Paypal system, its makes accounting easy. According to reports, they make very little money on the float. Plus, you have to wait for many years for Google checkout to become international. A side perk of Paypal is that you can speculate in foreign currency and choose to withdraw your earnings at the moment that is best for you.

well, this is true--altho they still do it, they were so BAD at making money on the float that they hadda raise fees...again & again & again. i think this is their best argument against being considered a bank--which they keep insisting they're not, to avoid regulation--banks know how to do it right!

LordBevan wrote (View Post): › nopaypal wrote (View Post): › i notice all the payment services which have come along lately do NOT hold funds in an "account" fer ya. as a seller, i like that...but i know that holding those funds is how paypal makes tons of money; so i wonder if the noobs will last. Actually I like Paypal system, its makes accounting easy. According to reports, they make very little money on the float. Plus, you have to wait for many years for Google checkout to become international. A side perk of Paypal is that you can speculate in foreign currency and choose to withdraw your earnings at the moment that is best for you.

Speculate with foreign funds…well you obviously have no idea what you are talking about

I have to transfer pounds sterling from my paypal account into my local bank account..that is NOT sterling; for this nice simple transaction I loose 11% in the deal to Paypal, if the pound sterling purse that paypal hold for me goes over 1,000 pounds at anytime I automatically give up any claim if Paypal goes bust .…they are just far too greedy and hopefully Google and Amazon with start to put the pressure on Paypal and get the fees down to a realistic level

I used a UK service called Nochex (merchant) all international payments were automatically converted to my default currency with transaction fees of just under half of PP and NO currency charges?:

I had just over 10,000 pounds frozen with PP..for too many transactions 10 days before Christmas…they are a terrible company to deal with and if you think the system is good …just wait it will bite you just as it has many many before you

I think this is good news. I used Amazon payments for my zShop and loved it. I would offer Paypal also, but all of my customers used Amazon Payments. A lot of people are not familiar with Paypal, and for those people, the word Paypal itself can make one apprehensive. It doesn’t sound very professional. Many customers of Amazon will have far more trust and confidence in Amazon Payments system than Paypal.
As a seller the fees were lower than Paypal. Amazon charged me 2.5% and 0.25 cents vs. Paypal’s 2.9% and 0.30 cents.

terryp wrote: › Speculate with foreign funds…well you obviously have no idea what you are talking about

<chuckle> i was wondering what he was talking about, too...like we're all a buncha budding george soroses here?

terryp wrote: › they are a terrible company to deal with and if you think the system is good …just wait it will bite you just as it has many many before you

i couldnt agree more...obviously. it's just a matter of time & luck.

lightning_lash wrote: › the word Paypal itself can make one apprehensive. It doesn’t sound very professional.

sorta like eating at a restaurant with "shack" in its name, eh?

nopaypal wrote (View Post): › <chuckle> i was wondering what he was talking about, too...like we're all a buncha budding george soroses here?

Well you guys obviously don't hold foreign currency to know what I am talking about. BTW, Paypal is the only one to let you hold foreign currency.

Paypal charges Canadians conversion fee to transfer USD into a Canadian bank account as well as poor exchange rates worse then the banks. At the sametime they prevent you from transfering USD in to a Canadian USD account

They gave Canadians a survey if they would prefer option of USD into a Canadian branch USD account. They showed the results when you took the survey and at the time I took it ...it screamed in the results Canadians wanted that option. No change so far !!!!

Paypal is of very little use for FOREX

Its better to accept bank transfers , cash , E-Gold

They just keep getting "cute"

Get Moneybookers
Can't wait for Canadian Googlecheckout too

Foreign Transactions Fee for PayPal ATM/Debit Card
Notice Date: May 9, 2007
Effective Date: June 7, 2007
Beginning June 7, 2007, the following fees will apply to PayPal ATM/Debit Card transactions: 1% Foreign Transaction Fee for cross border PayPal ATM/Debit Card payments or cash withdrawals. This fee will apply even if the transaction does not require PayPal to make a currency conversion. 1% for PayPal ATM/Debit Card payments or cash withdrawals that are not cross border transactions but require a currency conversion.

http://www.squidoo.com/global-payment-info/

Problem is none of these alternative payment methods are widely used. You really need a brand name such as google to ensure fast take up rate.

Quote: › Paypal is the only one to let you hold foreign currency.

you mean THEY hold OUR foreign currency. just like they do with the domestic stuff.