days after Google ushers in Checkout, PayPal sends an email announcing opening of new regional HQ in Singapore. PayPal Private Limited, as it'll be called, will cater to PayPal's non-US, non-EU customers effective 1st August, which is a month from now. In a way, this was destined to happen, and hopefully the new dispensation will offer improved services.
To its credit, opening and using PayPal account is very easy. One only needs a verified email address to get going. When PayPal scented opportunity in online payment business there were only a handful players in the field. Keeping it easy makes PayPal the most accepted face among countless small online business owners. Though PayPal charges good amount for its services, people take that in their stride. For most of them, PayPal remains the only choice, because, among other reasons, setting up one's own payment gateway is prohibitively costly.
Yet there are grumbles and often, frayed tempers. Getting answers from PayPal is never easy. Sometimes it would seem that all your fervent pleas are falling on deaf ears. For small entities, there is yet another problem. You wouldn't be able to lay hands on your money unless it reaches a threshold limit - usually $150.
When ebay acquired PayPal, its business soared manifold. Sellers on ebay are urged to use PayPal as preferred payment mode. However, more often than not, sellers outside US, EU and other rich countries receive PayPal payments after a long delay. This is not the case if you prefer direct delivery of selling amount to you, and in so doing you can also avoid hefty PayPal check-making charges. Adding up, one gets the idea that ebay+PayPal combination is not equally helpful for all sellers.
There are other concerns too. PayPal's resource-rich information attracts hordes of hackers and online-thieves to prey upon. This means that on many occasions, for none of your deliberate wrong-doing, you may have your legitimate account frozen along with whatever money there is in it.
As PayPal spread far and wide, the problems above should have prompted it to diversify and systematically organize its services in time. That was not to be, until Google arrived on the scene. Google's arrival is rumored from April last. So ultimately PayPal rolled up its sleeve and started serious thinking. Singapore's proposed set-up is an indication of that. One hopes that PayPal's Singapore unit will address customers' problems with alacrity. For one, why not facilitate direct bank-transfer of payments for its customers, say in India, like PayPal does for its customers in US, EU and few other countries? Checkout is presently only for US buyers and sellers. There is no doubt Google will offer the service elsewhere too in near future. For AdWords users, Checkout is expected to be a boon. Who knows, as time passes, Google may even entice Governments to use its discounted service for different revenue collections. Google is not known to play second fiddle in whatever it does. So Checkout will very shortly become a serious contender to PayPal.
It is unlikely that PayPal users will unceremoniously dump it in favor of Checkout (as and when it becomes available). In any case, Checkout's features are still in evolving stage. In all probability, it would be that PayPal customer will also become Checkout user and weigh pros and cons before choosing one over another. To that extent, PayPal still has some time. What about new customers? It's difficult to hazard a guess here. I'll not put my money on either one's succeeding, at least till the dust settles or till the fight begins in right earnest. After all, it's my money, honey!
