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PayPal Launches Facebook App For Sending Money

Posted by samzenpus on from the like-this dept.

angry tapir writes "PayPal has launched a Facebook application designed to let users of the social networking site send money to each other. The application, named Send Money, features a greeting card component for accompanying the money transfer with an e-card containing a message, photos and videos to mark occasions like birthdays and anniversaries."

12 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Fat cash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just think of all the money they can confiscate claiming fraud. Sounds like a good plan.

    1. Re:Fat cash by bobwrit · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Just think of all the money they can confiscate claiming fraud. Sounds like a good plan.

      This is Paypal's motivation in most cases. Considering that they won a case in Connecticut a few years back that says that Paypal cannot be regulated the same way a bank can(when they're pretty much a bank), they really have free reign. Of course, Paypal also has a history of randomly locking down accounts asking for SSN numbers and for you to verify where you live and provide a scanned driver's ID etc etc as well. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Paypal starts doing that here as well. I think you're spot on with this.

      --
      -- (this is a sig) My Computer Programming Forumhttp://www.programers.co.nr/
    2. Re:Fat cash by Runaway1956 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Significant, or otherwise, it's revenue. And, it's definitely significant to the victims! 180 day's interest on a thousand dollars is indeed a drop in the bucket for Paypal, but for many people, having their thousand dollars frozen for six months can be disastrous!

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    3. Re:Fat cash by Grishnakh · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I really don't know why anyone would use the PayPal app.

      It's simple really: Facebook is becoming like a separate internet, where lots of people do all their business and personal activities. Many people, for instance, don't even use email any more, as they do all their messaging on Facebook. If you're thinking I'm wacked, consider how old you are: are you over 25 (or better yet, 30)? If so, then yes, this would seem utterly crazy to you, but this is actually exactly how much of the under-25 crowd thinks; they really do think email is "obsolete".

      So if FB is like a second internet, with messaging, games, news, etc., it's only natural to think that people who spend all their time on there might also want a way of transferring money on there too. Sure, it's easy enough to just go to http://www.paypal.com/ and do it there, but again, we're talking about people who don't use the internet outside of Facebook.

  2. At Last... by Pirow · · Score: 5, Funny

    The two services I wish I could live my online life without.... COMBINED!

    1. Re:At Last... by Grishnakh · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Exactly; it's the old chicken-and-egg problem. It's not just Amazon either, lots of other Ebay clones have popped up over the years, but none of them has gotten even a fraction as large as Ebay. All the sellers go to Ebay (despite the ridiculous fees) because all the buyers are there, and vice versa.

      Any time I want to buy something on Ebay, I do take the time to look to see if there's another way of buying the same product elsewhere, but even with Ebay's high fees, strangely I find that it's frequently more expensive, if you can get it at all. I bought something recently, and found the exact same thing on Amazon, but the price there (from what appears to be the same seller) was higher, so I got it on Ebay instead.

  3. Yes by demonbug · · Score: 4, Funny

    But can it send BitCoins?

    (Only slightly less well known than "yes, but does it run linux?")

  4. Re:Created out of fear by semilemon · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think you may be refering to Dwolla.

    --
    Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?
  5. Given the scams and malware on Facebook, why? by swb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Given the spam, scams and malware on Facebook, I'm surprised they would do this.

    Just a couple of days ago, I got a Facebook message from my sister in law "Dare you to watch this video" (I didn't) but when you do, it spams all your Facebook contacts with the message (and whatever else).

    What happens when it steals money from your Paypal account instead?

    And why is it you can even write malware on Facebook? Shouldn't they be able to stop that?

  6. Re:No Bank/Checking account--Ever by Grishnakh · · Score: 5, Informative

    The problem with this is that, without linking to a bank account, it's much harder to move money in and out of Paypal; they want an enormous fee every time you ask them to cut a check.

    The answer is simple: get one account (mine's at an old credit union in another state that I no longer use actively) and link that to your Paypal account, and ONLY use it for Paypal transfers. When you transfer money into the account, then you're able to write a check with it, or whatever.

    Why people think they can only have one bank account, I have no idea.

  7. Sending... by fisted · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sending money? Who the heck cares about sending money?
    If facebook wants me to register, they better add an app for receiving money.

    --
    CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
  8. Re:No thanks by Magic5Ball · · Score: 3, Informative

    > fraud and straight up money laundering

    Whereas this app only funnels a commission through http://connectionpoint.ca/sendmoney and other intermediaries, so that you end up using PayPal as an external service anyway. This app is pointless for anyone in civilized countries where direct account to account transfers or things like Interac are free through your bank's online services.

    --
    There are 1.1... kinds of people.