After Checkout, It's PayPal Singapore

2 days after Google ushers in Checkout, PayPal sends an email announcing opening of new regional HQ in Singapore. PayPal Private Limited, as it'll be called, will cater to PayPal's non-US, non-EU customers effective 1st August, which is a month from now. In a way, this was destined to happen, and hopefully the new dispensation will offer improved services.

To its credit, opening and using PayPal account is very easy. One only needs a verified email address to get going. When PayPal scented opportunity in online payment business there were only a handful players in the field. Keeping it easy makes PayPal the most accepted face among countless small online business owners. Though PayPal charges good amount for its services, people take that in their stride. For most of them, PayPal remains the only choice, because, among other reasons, setting up one's own payment gateway is prohibitively costly.

Yet there are grumbles and often, frayed tempers. Getting answers from PayPal is never easy. Sometimes it would seem that all your fervent pleas are falling on deaf ears. For small entities, there is yet another problem. You wouldn't be able to lay hands on your money unless it reaches a threshold limit - usually $150.

When ebay acquired PayPal, its business soared manifold. Sellers on ebay are urged to use PayPal as preferred payment mode. However, more often than not, sellers outside US, EU and other rich countries receive PayPal payments after a long delay. This is not the case if you prefer direct delivery of selling amount to you, and in so doing you can also avoid hefty PayPal check-making charges. Adding up, one gets the idea that ebay+PayPal combination is not equally helpful for all sellers.

There are other concerns too. PayPal's resource-rich information attracts hordes of hackers and online-thieves to prey upon. This means that on many occasions, for none of your deliberate wrong-doing, you may have your legitimate account frozen along with whatever money there is in it.

As PayPal spread far and wide, the problems above should have prompted it to diversify and systematically organize its services in time. That was not to be, until Google arrived on the scene. Google's arrival is rumored from April last. So ultimately PayPal rolled up its sleeve and started serious thinking. Singapore's proposed set-up is an indication of that. One hopes that PayPal's Singapore unit will address customers' problems with alacrity. For one, why not facilitate direct bank-transfer of payments for its customers, say in India, like PayPal does for its customers in US, EU and few other countries?

Checkout is presently only for US buyers and sellers. There is no doubt Google will offer the service elsewhere too in near future. For AdWords users, Checkout is expected to be a boon. Who knows, as time passes, Google may even entice Governments to use its discounted service for different revenue collections. Google is not known to play second fiddle in whatever it does. So Checkout will very shortly become a serious contender to PayPal.

It is unlikely that PayPal users will unceremoniously dump it in favor of Checkout (as and when it becomes available). In any case, Checkout's features are still in evolving stage. In all probability, it would be that PayPal customer will also become Checkout user and weigh pros and cons before choosing one over another. To that extent, PayPal still has some time. What about new customers? It's difficult to hazard a guess here. I'll not put my money on either one's succeeding, at least till the dust settles or till the fight begins in right earnest. After all, it's my money, honey!

Partha Bhattacharya is an experienced web video maker and a specialized web content writer. His video production course teaches how to create and combine audio podcast and 5 types of web videos into a single video. Partha's video production blog is a source of many useful tips for small and medium websites.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

PayPal versus Google Checkout: A Comparison

Now that Google Checkout is available, web sites and their developers have multiple options for quickly and easily accepting electronic payments over the Internet. While both provide a means for buyers to securely shop, and both have anti-fraud policies to protect both consumers and businesses, we feel most businesses will want to use PayPal primarily, but offer Google Checkout for those buyers who are not comfortable using PayPal.

Google Checkout is simply the guardian of credit or debit card information. When a buyer checks out with Google Checkout, they can optionally transmit their mailing address or email address to a merchant, as well as opting into a merchant's newsletter. From the merchant's perspective, adding Google Checkout is as simple as using the Google Checkout site to generate HTML code and pasting it into their site. In exchange for this, Google collects a small fee, which can be reimbursed through purchasing Google's AdWords services.

When a buyer checks out, their credit card is charged, they receive an email, and the merchant receives an email. A few days later, the merchant, through their checking or savings account, receives the money from the buyer. At the end of the month, the merchant's sales are tallied up and fees are assessed. The standard Google Checkout fee is two percent of sales plus twenty cents per transaction. Through purchasing AdWords, merchants can receive ten dollars of free sales for every dollar spent in AdWords. As an example, a merchant who spends $50 per month in AdWords can process up to $500 in sales that month for free.

PayPal is a much more full-featured financial services provider. They provide for a holding account that can be optionally tied to an interest-bearing money market or even a debit card. PayPal also holds an advantage in that it is available in over fifty five countries as of this writing, while Google Checkout is only available in the United States. From the buyer's perspective, PayPal may be more convenient as it allows for purchases funded by a credit or debit card, as well as a checking or savings account.

While more and more ads on Google's ad network are carrying the Google Checkout badge, PayPal has 100 million users world-wide. Although Google Checkout is just starting off, PayPal has a massive lead in both time and users. Additionally, PayPal has established relationships with thousands of merchants, while Google is just starting to build their network. Another point in PayPal's favor is that the service that many believe made it into the success it is today, eBay, has disallowed Google Checkout as a means of paying for auctions, claiming it to be an unauthorized payment service that lacks a proven track record.

For a point by point comparison, we'll first consider the merchants. While PayPal has thousands, as well as the eBay marketplace, Google has hundreds, including buy.com and eCost.com. PayPal accepts credit and debit cards as well as bank accounts for making payments, while Google Checkout only accepts credit and debit cards. PayPal allows you to rate merchants on EBay only, while Google allows buyers to rate any merchants. PayPal is available in fifty five countries in six currencies, whereas Google Checkout is only available in the United States in US Dollars. PayPal will not allow a buyer to hide their email address, while Google Checkout will allow the buy to choose whether or not to share it. PayPal was literally built on user-to-user payments, while Google Checkout only allows payments to be made to established merchants. PayPal charges merchants 1.9 to 2.9 percent of sales, plus thirty cents per transaction, while Google Checkout charges two percent of sales plus twenty cents per transaction.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.