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PayPal Brings Mobile Payments To U.S.

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the lol-i-pay-kk dept.

An anonymous reader writes "PayPal is bringing the eastern use of the cellphone as a payment method to the United States. The company's mobile service aims to use secure text messages as a payment method for direct-marketing initiatives and other 'on-the-spot' mercantile opportunities." From the article: "To the extent that digital money doesn't feel like real money, it may increase spontaneous purchasing ... " This story offers more details on a discussion we had last month.

3 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Logical by gerbalblaste · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is a logicalextension of paypal's increasingly omnipresent marketing and services.
    Paypal has diversified into many diferent branches and while this new mobile payment may be subject to some criticism and a degree of scepticism it is likely that this will come to be as pervasive as credit cards.

  2. Re:What I want... by jrockway · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you send a text message to GOOGL with the barcode number, it will return comparison shopping information. Unfortunately, in America everything is cheaper online, so there's no real point in going shopping anyway.

    --
    My other car is first.
  3. The perfect model by nighty5 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What a sensational business model.

    1) Act and charge like a real bank, but don't say you're one.

    2) Offer no real customer service, treat customers like thieves, offer no financial protection, unlike a real bank don't be forced to implement security and continity controls

    3) Profit!