Google to Offer Payment Services
The largest online ad and information broker wants to broker transactions too. No real details exposed, but this (WSJ sub req) is not a real surprise:
Google Inc. this year plans to offer an electronic-payment service that could help the Internet-search company diversify its revenue and may heighten competition with eBay Inc.'s PayPal unit, according to people familiar with the matter.
It will be interesting to see what sort of walls Google builds as they expand into other verticals.
You can't dip your toe into certain markets without a strong desire to shut out competitors, but if the moves are too blatent people will shun Google. Their search algorithms and business practices will get called in question much more frequently now. A while ago, due to that hum dinger too much similar anchor text filter Google rolled out, PayPal was not ranking for its own name. Now you will have people asking if things like that are an accident or a feature.
I can't see some marketers wanting to share transaction history details with their ad broker, but if the roll out is smooth and smart Paypal could be screwed. Interesting times indeed.
Notice how this news came out on a Friday evening after the market closed, so Google could generate spin and press all weekend long.
Comments
I have an ongoing issue with e-Bay/PayPal over a posting I made over a year ago. I sold a printer, refurbished and printed every detail including warranty and in addition"NO PRINTER CARTRIDGES INCLUDED" well, as the story goes the person who bought it did not purchase shipping insurance. This item in the box weighs 100 lbs. I have photos and 2 witnesses who watched it packed full of protection. When he signed for the package he made no claim of damage to the box but one week later complains no cartridges, then claims it was damaged. I told him he did not take my advice on the insurance. He ships it back to me and I declined to receive it. So after 8 months of nothing he files a grieviance with his credit card company and they reverse the charges back to PayPal and naturally they are trying to collect it from me. So watch out for these indiscriminate third party payment operations they are snakes in the grass. I have paid processing fees to them for some time and you would think a small calulated % would go to issues like this or that the buyer agreement locks the original payer? My attorney says bring it on, He likes being on TV! Helops his wife on her compulsive shopping endeavors.
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