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Paypal Rolls Out Photo Verification Trial In UK

Posted by samzenpus on from the your-real-money-is-no-good-here dept.

kdryer39 writes "Retailers in Richmond upon Thames are among the first to allow shoppers to leave their wallets at home and pay for items using just the PayPal app and their profile picture. The app for iOS, Windows OS and Android phones highlights nearby shops and restaurants that accept PayPal before the customer checks in by clicking on the required retailer and sliding an animated pin down on their screen. At present, only 12 merchants are using the system but it expects more than 2,000 locations will have the ability to use the app by the end of 2013."

14 of 61 comments (clear)

  1. wallet by Tom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At present, only 12 merchants are using the system

    Which makes the "leave wallet at home" statement pure hyperbole.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    1. Re:wallet by Dupple · · Score: 3, Funny

      It'll be interesting how this works out. Normally when I'm in Richmond, I'm off my face and can't find my wallet

      --
      Watch those corners
  2. fuck paypal by ionix5891 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They close accounts without providing reasons nor being able to get in contact with a human

    this is not "news for nerds" this is a "this marketing message has been brought to you by the Paypal PR department"

    1. Re:fuck paypal by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's interesting because they need your profile picture on file. PayPal are getting all wet at the thought of having every customer's face in their database, to help them harass unfortunate victims of fraud. It gives them a legitimate reason to store that information, which would otherwise be illegal in most European countries.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:fuck paypal by Tom · · Score: 2

      They are, however, BBB accredited and have an excellent rating:
      http://www.bbb.org/sanjose/business-reviews/payment-processing-service/paypal-in-san-jose-ca-210387

      Compare that to, say, Steam's mother Valve:
      https://www.bbb.org/western-washington/business-reviews/computer-software-publishers-and-developers/valve-corporation-in-bellevue-wa-27030704

      which gets a straight F for pretty much the same reasons you claim for PayPal. I'm not a friend of PayPal and would move elsewhere if that were a serious option, but they have worked well for me for about 8 years now. Maybe because I understand that they're not a bank and never have more than a few hundred bucks in my account.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    3. Re:fuck paypal by augustw · · Score: 3, Informative

      PayPal requires a government issued photo ID for all but the most trivial uses.

      In the UK (where this trial is taking place) PayPal doesn't "require a government issued photo ID" for any purpose. It's not required by UK anti-money laundering legislation. And there is no "government issued photo ID" in the UK.. And no, we don't use our driving licences for this purpose. And no, we aren't required to carry our driving licences when we're driving.

  3. Missing info by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 3, Informative
    The information that actually goes with the headline, but was left out of TFS:

    The customer's name and photo then appears on the shop's payment system and the retailer charges them by clicking on their image.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Missing info by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      So my twin brother can take all my money now?

  4. Extraneous middle man taking cut. by MrL0G1C · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So paypal get their % cut and then the card company get their % cut. No thanks, this makes goods more expensive.

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    Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
  5. Re:i have an identical twin by Overzeetop · · Score: 2

    Sounds like free lunch on you're twin's dime.

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    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  6. why is paypal legal ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Other "banks" require government licenses and are heavily regulated. And I consider paypal a bank because it has control over the funds it keeps for its users, just like a bank.

    1. Re:why is paypal legal ? by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree. If it waddles like a bank and quacks like a bank then it's a bank.

      Unless it's a building society. Assuming they still exist...

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    2. Re:why is paypal legal ? by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yeah, because it was PayPal, not the banks, that lead to a world-wide financial crisis. Although I understand what you're saying, I don't trust that government regulation will protect us from everything. Make sure you understand the agreements you are entering into with your banking institution. There are thousands of banks in the US. I highly doubt that all of them are that trustworthy or safe with your money.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  7. Re:Time to set my profile picture to a penis by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

    That would only be good for microtransactions

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    rewriting history since 2109