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PayPal Brings Mobile Payments To U.S.
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.
Now I can fall victim to a phishing scam anywhere
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.
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.
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!
so far the only thing they seem to be pushing is cd/dvd sales -- how the hell could it possibly be convenient to buy a cd via paypal via phone? why would i want to send a text message, and then receive a call in order to find out the price and shipping?
if i want music, i want it now, so if i'm shopping i will buy it at the campus music store, or if i am home i will buy it on itunes. the only time i buy cd's online at all are when they are not on itunes or at the cd store.
there's still hope though!
what if i could buy my movie tickets on my phone instead of waiting in line at the theater? that would actually be cool.
-- lol pwned
So now after the hookers done, all I got to do is text her?
We'll call it Pay4Pal.
$sig$
You seem cynical. Perhaps you don't have enough money.
- It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
I'd like to take the word tonight to whine about PayPal not supporting my country, Bulgaria.
Every time I see a PayPal donate / purchase button I'm automatically filtered out since they just don't support my country and declineto accept my credit cards if I try to sign up.
For what is considered the most popular micropayments system in the world, they'd do better to hurry up and actually support the world..