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PayPal Predicts the End of the Wallet By 2015

Posted by Soulskill on from the spines-everywhere-straighten-in-relief dept.

BogenDorpher writes "As new technology emerges, one can safely assume that the days of carrying a wallet will soon end. In fact, PayPal believes that by the year 2015, no one will be carrying a wallet anymore. Instead, mobile payment methods will be taking over."

50 of 391 comments (clear)

  1. I hope that.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The broker for those payments isn't PayPal, what a horrible company.

    1. Re:I hope that.. by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The broker for those payments isn't PayPal, what a horrible company.

      They are idiots, run by the same idiot philosophy which drives eBay - almost no customer service.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:I hope that.. by JDeane · · Score: 3, Informative

      I agree, I have used PayPal exactly 1 time. I honestly wish I had not. At the end of the day it proved to be a $700+ lesson.

      The fraud protection is a fraud...

      I am sure that people use PayPal all day long and never have a problem, but if the party on the other end of the payment is not legit forget about your money, your better off with a credit card at least then you can dispute the charges and get some results.

    3. Re:I hope that.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      same thing happened to me. their arbitrator sided with the seller who sold counterfeit and defective dvds to me, and whose account had been disabled by ebay. but they sided with the seller. burden of proof was on me to find an industry expert to certify that the dvds i received was actually counterfeit. they just didn't want to return my money because they knew they would not get it from the seller. that's paypal's fraud protection -- to themselves.

    4. Re:I hope that.. by iamhassi · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "They are idiots, run by the same idiot philosophy which drives eBay - almost no customer service."

      Not true anymore. Call Paypal at 1-888-221-1161 and see how long it takes to get a real-live person on the phone. I've never waited more than a minute. Wish I could say the same about my ISP, gas and electric. Even my credit union takes longer to answer.

      I've had over 4,000 transactions through Paypal in the past 24 months and only 3 issues, none of them so major that I would stop using them. Did have some issues 10 years ago but they're much better now, probably because they've changed how they operate after several lawsuits.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
  2. Wallet != Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wallets aren't only used to carry money or credit cards.

    1. Re:Wallet != Money by fermat1313 · · Score: 2

      Wallets aren't only used to carry money or credit cards.

      Right. It's a ridiculous statement on the surface, and the concept of everyone using mobile payments is also ridiculous. My mom won't use a debit card, and refuses to purchase anything online. She also uses a basic phone with almost no features. Unless he's planning on knocking my mom off in the next four years, his prediction isn't going to come true.

    2. Re:Wallet != Money by Demanufacture · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic or not, but I can honestly say that I quite regularly use cars for non-transportation purposes. To me, a car is also a generator and a climate controlled environment. My line of work takes me to various locations which don't have any shelter or electricity, so the car becomes a mobile office for all intents and purposes.

      --
      --- "When you're strange"
    3. Re:Wallet != Money by iamhassi · · Score: 4, Funny

      So your mom walks around with large wads of cash in her purse? Where is she right now?

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    4. Re:Wallet != Money by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Interesting
      And more important, a wallet doesn't charge a transaction fee to anyone. On the internet, content is king - everywhere else it's cash.

      Wallets also carry bank cards, ID cards, drivers licenses, bus and subway tickets, all sorts of other cards (and credit, store, and gas cards WANT you to see their logo every time you pull it out).

      What next - "Paypal predicts the end of the purse by 2020?"

      Paypal will disappear long before wallets do.

    5. Re:Wallet != Money by thegarbz · · Score: 5, Informative

      You haven't been to Europe have you? It's a place where debit and credit cards and not accepted at every corner store for purchasing a mars bar. Even here in Australia many stores won't let you use a payment system which requires commission such as a credit card without a minimum purchase, and even for large purchases will charge a surcharge for Amex or DinersClub. I typically carry around $100 in my wallet. My cousin in Europe carries around 600euro and this is considered normal.

    6. Re:Wallet != Money by ancienthart · · Score: 2

      Seriously? That's your argument? A wallet's like a car and we only use a car for transport?

      What I carry in my wallet, even when I'm cash-free.
      Driver's Licence, Medicare Card, business cards and phone numbers before I enter/scan them into my smartphone, receipts from expensive purchases (which I store when I get home) and lacteze tablets.

      Now I know that people are going to say "Store your driver's licence in your car" but in Australia, the driver's license is an often-used piece of identification. Want to collect a parcel? "Do you have your driver's licence on you?" Want to get into a club. "Do you have a driver's licence or proof-of-age card?" (My wife still gets asked for ID and we're both in our 30's.)
      I also know that non-Australians are going to say "Why don't you remember your Medicare Card number and leave the card at home?" In Australia, everything medical is usually done from the physical card, and if a medical emergency pops up, you want the card right on you.
      Finally, EVERY purchase in Australia results in a receipt. (I've heard foreigners comment on the paper-happiness of Australia.) Most small receipts get tossed, but it's happened enough times that I get home, notice something wrong with a purchase (double charged, wrong item, etc.) and have to have some proof of purchase when I get back to the shop. If that doesn't happen, I throw the receipt away at home.

      So you see, my options are: carry a wallet, even if it has no money in it; or carry a handbag. :P

    7. Re:Wallet != Money by gl4ss · · Score: 2

      I've been in many places in europe for the past decade and amazingly just about the only place that doesn't take visa's debit card is.. finnish train conductors, they'll take regular visa though(this would include spain, uk, germany, austria and even france). carrying 600euro in wallet is not normal, only people I know who do that are either going to spend that on something they don't want on their bank statement or the elderly who've accustomed to going to the teller and withdrawing a lot at once. all kebab places, kiosks etc etc take cards, if they don't it's bad business, basically if it's a business with an address they will take cards. mobile POS devices are all over the place too. minimum purchases when they're enforced are typically 3.5euros or so(bigger the store, the more likely that there's no minimum).

      you still need a wallet to keep your train tickets/cards, banking codes etc etc in. if a place doesn't take cards it's likely they're not doing things by the book. anyways - paypal is wrong. you need to have a certain amount of redundancy - if your phone works as a wallet and you lose it, what then? what will you buy the new phone with? I predict people will be carrying the holy trinity for a long time still - the holy trinity is keys, wallet and phone. you lose any two and you can still get home to sort the rest out.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    8. Re:Wallet != Money by 1s44c · · Score: 2

      You haven't been to Europe have you? It's a place where debit and credit cards and not accepted at every corner store for purchasing a mars bar. Even here in Australia many stores won't let you use a payment system which requires commission such as a credit card without a minimum purchase, and even for large purchases will charge a surcharge for Amex or DinersClub. I typically carry around $100 in my wallet. My cousin in Europe carries around 600euro and this is considered normal.

      In the UK you can use credit or debt cards for just about any purchase, Small stores sometimes get pissy about it though. In the Netherlands it's very common to use debt cards to buy a sandwich or a bottle of cola. It's certainly not common to carry around more than about 100 Euros here, 600 sounds like asking for trouble. I don't know where in Europe your cousin is though, things vary a lot from country to country.

    9. Re:Wallet != Money by 1s44c · · Score: 2

      You haven't been to Europe have you? It's a place where debit and credit cards and not accepted at every corner store for purchasing a mars bar

      That and ... you know ... waiting for your bank to approve a 70 cent purchase is likely to get you beaten up for being an ass.

      It varies a lot from country to country but it is common practice to buy that 70 cent mars bar with a debt card in the Netherlands. You don't need to wait more than about a second for the bank to approve the transaction. That and people are not so unhappy about waiting for 10 to 20 seconds extra here, it's all ( annoyingly ) slow paced.

    10. Re:Wallet != Money by Tadu · · Score: 2

      My cousin in Europe carries around 600euro and this is considered normal.

      This is certainly not an amount considered normal for every-day usage here in Germany, and I seriously doubt this is the case in any other European country.

      Also note that in Europa, there is the EC card (currently being renamed to girocard or some such) - essentially a regular bank card that you can pay with, either with PIN code (also requires commission, but less than credit cards) or with signature (allowing direct debit and agreeing to pay fees caused by cancelling that direct debit).

      And last, but not least, there's also the GeldKarte (money card) - another application on your bank card that you can load small amounts of money for micro payments, accepted at some vendin machines and some shops - it didn't reach the popularity the banks anticipated, but almost any bank card carries the GeldKarte logo.

      All in all, there's pretty much no place for PayPal in Europa - except for people believing the "buyer protection" mythos and smaller mechants. But small amounts are still frequently paid in cash - why give banks an additional share coupled with a slow down in the paying process?

    11. Re:Wallet != Money by Cinnamon+Whirl · · Score: 2

      600 euros? thats a lot of mars bars..............

  3. One less thing to carry by Mitchell314 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Nice. It's a good thing I only use my wallet for cash, and not frivolous other stuff like a driver's license.

    --
    I read TFA and all I got was this lousy cookie
    1. Re:One less thing to carry by jawtheshark · · Score: 2

      So what happens when you get stopped and your cellphone isn't charged? Just saying, there are advantages to physical tokens.

      --
      Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    2. Re:One less thing to carry by krotkruton · · Score: 4, Funny

      When they figure out a way to put a condom in a mobile phone, then the wallet will be obsolete.

    3. Re:One less thing to carry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This will work oso well in rural areas with sketchy, if not non-existent, data service.

      And forget about any dead-battery issues. Or your phone just being bricked because you dropped it in the toilet at the last rest stop.

      Heavens! What if the cop wanted to physically take your license? What if read your messages? Or perused your address book? No potential problems there, nosiree!

      Sorry. A cell phone is just too darn fragile to rely on for important ID. It's also too fragile for sole use as a wallet. Do you really want your wallet to be something you take out of the safety of your pocket for every little whim? Do you really want your wallet subject to having a dead battery? Just think. You could be stranded with NO money, NO identification, and NO way to call for help. That's real smart.

      I might use my phone for financial transactions, but there is no way I'll rely on it for ID or be my sole financial instrument.

    4. Re:One less thing to carry by rickkw · · Score: 2

      Thinking outside of the box -- why put condom inside a mobile phone? Put your mobile phone inside layers of condoms. just peel one off each time you need one. as a side benefit, it makes your phone instantly waterproof.

  4. Not until... by p0p0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... they are certified as a bank, and are required to offer the same protections and liabilities as one. I've never had problems with PayPal, but I've heard horror stories of lost money and account freezes with no real hope on recovering what you lost.

    1. Re:Not until... by nospam007 · · Score: 5, Informative

      "Not until ...... they are certified as a bank,"

      Rejoice then.

      "Commencing July 2, 2007, as PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. & Cie, S.C.A., PayPal moved its European operations from the UK to Luxembourg. As a Luxembourg entity, it is since regulated as a bank by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) and provides PayPal service throughout the European Union."

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal#Bank_status

    2. Re:Not until... by BenoitRen · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's only in Europe. They still aren't a bank in the USA, as the article you linked points out.

  5. Funny about PayPal making a claim like that. by liquidweaver · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Every conversation I've had recently about Paypal was a.) Brought up by the person I was talking with, not me b.) revolved around how much they hated PayPal, and would rather write transfer/check/trade sheep anything but use them again.

    --
    mov ah, 4ch
    int 21h
    1. Re:Funny about PayPal making a claim like that. by DigiShaman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Amen to that! Paypal can go straight to hell. I used them once, and got burned really badly. That whole ordeal still pisses me off to this day, and till the day that I die. Fuckers!

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    2. Re:Funny about PayPal making a claim like that. by MindStalker · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually you got burned by the other buyer/seller. I've used paypal for 3 years now to accept payment from clients for independent web programming. I only do business with people I trust and never had any clients attempt to charge back from me. So for me paypal has been fine, the have never been a problem at all. //I also use the paypal debit card, and not put the money into my bank so paypal can't hold payments from my bank, just from my attempted ATM withdrawls I guess, though they have never done so.

  6. Not a chance by schnikies79 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not if PayPal is the middle-man.

    --
    Gone!
  7. Cash is not going away by justsomecomputerguy · · Score: 2

    Cash will ALWAYS exist. Whether out of the desire for anonymity, the convenience or the underground economy.

  8. mobile payment methods by flohuels · · Score: 2

    Isn't a traditional wallet a 'mobile payment method'?

  9. Scott Thompson, President, PayPal by Spy+Handler · · Score: 3, Funny

    instead of wallets, he thinks everyone will be carrying man-purses like him by 2015

    1. Re:Scott Thompson, President, PayPal by Hylandr · · Score: 3, Funny

      We already do carry man-purses. We call them laptop cases.

      - Dan.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
  10. no one CARES what paypal says by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Insightful

    no one respects paypal, no one trusts them. they won't come clean and be a proper bank (and I use the term 'proper' very loosely).

    who the hell cares what some microblog says about what paypal thinks? news flash: greedy ceo's dream of taking over the world. film at 11.

    crap article to create panic (and page refreshes). this really should have been filtered, slashies.... please do a better job picking the greenlit articles next time.

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    1. Re:no one CARES what paypal says by Pharmboy · · Score: 2

      My first reaction was 'haahahahaha!".

      "They" predicted that the internet would mean the end of books, yet sales are in record territory. "They" predicted that computers would foster the "paperless office"....yeah, how is that working for you? "They" predicted that the war on drugs would reduce usage and addiction. "They" is about the dumbest son of a bitch I have ever met.

      Many, many, MANY people who make less than you and I will continue to carry a wallet for decades to come. In part because many people with less means (and many with more means, btw) do not trust "the system", and like the feel of cold hard cash in their hands.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  11. But will it end Man Purses by KingBozo · · Score: 2

    Yep, an my employer will still require receipts for expense reports. Now it 2015 wallets will be gone and I will have to carry a damn man purse.

    Better buy a stock of wallets to have a supply after 2015.

  12. I hope not... by SoundGuyNoise · · Score: 2

    You're on line at the supermarket, and the little old lady in front of you with her eggs and cheese is asked for her loyalty/discount card. Do you think she'll be faster pulling out a piece of plastic, or navigating through her mobile phone from menu to menu to app to option? And the same again if she's paying by credit card.

    Credit/debit payments are gaining a foothold, but it's going to be a loooooong time until we even consider a cashless society.

    And there's few things more enjoyable than giving real cash to a little niece or nephew.

    --
    You never expect irony, do you?
    Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
    @iyfwrestling
  13. PayPal predicts by taustin · · Score: 2

    That PayPal will become the indispensable service without which, you will die, your children will be eaten by wild animals, and hellfire will rain down from the heavens.

    Are they planning an IPO or something?

  14. In other news... by BinarySolo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Maker of a technology predicts said technology will become ubiquitous.

  15. Wallet believes.. by tompaulco · · Score: 2

    Wallet believes that by the year 2015, no one will be using Paypal anymore.

    --
    If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  16. Bull by BlueCoder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Never Gonna Happen

    The illegal market depends on cash too much. If they took away cash people would start carrying around platinum, gold, silver and copper coins again as well as having funds deposited in foreign currency and the US government won't let that happen. China will go paperless long before the US does.

    1. Re:Bull by bmajik · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The size of the illegal market will also continue to increase, as more things will become illegal.

      But heck, I like using cash when I'm _not_ doing anything knowingly illegal. Sometimes you just want to fork over some money and be anonymous. No, I don't want you to add this item to my profile. No, I don't want to sign anything. No, I don't want to transfer enough of my identity to you that you can buy things "on my behalf" after your shfit ends. No, you can't have my phone number. No, you can't have my zip code. No, I don't have email. Give me my fucking $item and stop asking questions.

      --
      My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
  17. Not as long as people are people. by copponex · · Score: 2

    You can't buy sex or drugs and keep it a secret without cash. Good luck.

  18. Re:Paypal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please, oh PLEASE someone, ANYONE, give me an alternative to PayPal.

    Bitcoins? :-)

  19. Re:And pigs will also all be airborne by then by hairyfeet · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you use a little bank instead of a mega bank? Then yes they are.

    I use my debit online often simply because I have a great bank and don't have to worry, because if anyone overcharges or double dips I just walk in and go "Hey Karen guess what? Somebody double dipped when I bought a part online" and she'll go "Ooooh don't you just hate that? My husband bought some tools online last month and that tried that, that's so irritating! Here just let me bring this up...is it this one where there is two back to back? Okay just let me type this...voila! your money is back where it belongs!" and I thank Karen and go on about my way.

    So yeah you can find trustworthy banks out there, it just takes a little more work. I can't use ATMs in most places without paying the fee since my bank is a little local shop, but having hassle free banking with friendly folks is worth it to me. It is also nice to go into a bank and have them know you by name and ask about your family, and treat you like a person instead of a walking cash register.

    As for TFA after getting burnt by Paypal if I had to trade in goats heads and cheese instead of money to keep from doing business with that bunch of scammers I would. every person I've talked to has been burnt at least once by them and got basically told "We got paid so fuck right off" and promptly ignored. Not if they were the last source of money on earth and were giving away hookers and blow with each new account.

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  20. Re:Paper/plastic money sure by bennomatic · · Score: 2

    Bitcoins!

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
  21. Re:PayPal. by jcoy42 · · Score: 2

    We don't really give a fuck what you say.

    It's a news blog for nerds, not a church.

    --
    Never trust an atom. They make up everything.
  22. Re:P****l. by hedwards · · Score: 2

    No, it should be P****l. Shit is perfectly fine though.

  23. Why go that far? by Estanislao+Mart�nez · · Score: 2

    I live in the San Francisco Peninsula, within two blocks of a Vietnamese restaurant and a Japanese take-out place that take cash only. There's also plenty of restaurants that refuse to take credit cards for bills under either $15 or $20.

    --

    Are you adequate?

  24. The future we've all been waiting for! by Rizimar · · Score: 5, Funny

    It appears that you're trying to spend your money to buy a Snickers from this PayPal vending machine. Unfortunately, we've recently detected someone trying to hack into your account. Please prove that you're you by tying PayPal to your bank account, and then transfer $50 to us which we will refund in your PayPal account.

    It appears that you're trying to purchase a new t-shirt at the PayPal store. While you've tied your bank account to us, we've recently detected someone trying to hack into your account. Please prove that you're you by giving us your social security number which we won't use for anything other than your identification. We swear.

    It appears that you're not spending any money with your PayPal app on your phone today. We have detected that you may be deceased. Please prove that you're still alive by calling our toll-free 1-800 number from 9 to 5 PM Central. But only after transferring $50 from your bank account to us, which we'll refund in your PayPal account.