Nowadays Paypal is the most prevalent method of payment out there, unfortunately it doesn't allow full functionality in certain countries, routinely limits and blocks accounts that have not breached terms of service and it gets away with it because it's the most widely used. Is there a chance we might see a powerful competitor for PayPal anytime soon?
Already there are many paypal alternatives but since they are relatively new, they haven't gained as much popularity as paypal. In time, when people who shop online try the other payment methods as Google Pay, Web Money, etc, and find them as convenient as paypal then quite naturally the company that will provide the best services [and charges the lowest commissions] will 'win.'
Serve by American Express is trying to compete with Paypal, but most people haven't heard of it. I thought that Google Checkout was a real contender but a lot of sites still don't accept it as a payment method. I don't know how Paypal became such a monopoly.
I think Payoneer is taking over PayPal by storm. In most cases in countries that do not PayPal, Payoneer is taking up that market. The also PayPal has some stupid limitations every now and then that is why more people are moving away from it.
There are already great alternatives but they don't have a national renowned brand. It's a matter of popularity. Once a site gets enough clients than sellers will start accepting said site as a payment method. Right now they don't want to waste their time with minority alternatives.
I think that it will be difficult for any payapl alternatives to gain footing because payapl is already so well established and popular. I agree that there are many smaller services out there that provide the same or better functions as paypal, but it is difficult for them to get customers because few websites will accept them. Paypal dominates the online payment field and I don't foresee any company in the near future offering them any real competition. For most people, paypal's negatives are far outweighed by their positives.
Te best we have at the moment is Amazon payments, but i have to say no. I don't think Paypal will ever have a real competitor, because they have had to big of a head start. They have to many business working relationships with major cooperation's. Those alliances would never allow a competitor to thrive.
Other than the fact that Paypal tries to discourage illegal and immoral uses, what are the main complaints? You can even gamble with it, if you are gambling legally. I'm sure it is even possible to pay for illegal drugs (I believe they are allowing legal pot sales) and prostitution if you use enough subterfuges, but they do try to prevent such uses.
For the moment, we will have to get used with Paypal, since the alternative solutions are too focused on copying it, rather than come up with something new. I used for a month Neteller, just to try something else than Paypal and gave up, because even the account interface seemed to be a cheap version of Paypal
I have Paypal, Neteller, Moneybookers (Skrill) and Payoneer but I prefer to use Paypal because it makes me to fell secure (I can pay almost everything I want fast and secure).
Indeed, on PayPal you have the warranty it`s one of the safest payment system, not only on eBay, but for other retailers. I remember I asked a refund and my seller refused, but Paypal returned my money until the end of the dispute, following to recover the amount of that stubborn seller
I think that Google wallet will be a big competitor to paypal. A lot of people are already adopting it, and it can only grow.
This reminds me of PayFree. I was happy to see it being worked on here in the Philippines and thought it had a great chance of really getting up and going here. I just looked it up however and it appears that it shut down at the end of November 2012. It was sad to see that notification. I like to see local alternatives to "the big boys". So, depending on what country you are in, you should check for local alternatives as well. It depends on what you are trying to do and who (financially) you are trying to interact with. It may take a little "ground work" to find, but I think you might be surprised.
I agree. I think once these other online merchants become more mainstream, I think they will be able to compete with paypal. Paypal has always been the top paying option online because it's always been the only paying option. Now that they have other big name companies throwing their name in the hat, I think we will see PP either lose revenue and customers, or they are going to change some of their strict policies that they've been enforcing. Either way, having more than one option to choose from is always a good thing and I hope google pay and others catch on soon, so we can have a little variety in the way we pay for things online.
"Immoral" is an opinion and Paypal sometimes attacks blogs that they don't agree with that have a Paypal donate button. I've heard of blogs being shut down because Paypal didn't like them using the donate button. Regretsy was having a Secret Santa fundraiser to help poor families and Paypal shut it down, but then later gave in and let them access the funds to buy the toys. Paypal almost ruined Christmas for a lot of needy kids because they couldn't stop themselves from interfering and holding funds. Why do people complain about Paypal? Because Paypal interferes and doesn't mind their own business.
I would say that if the Almightly Google has tried and not been successful, I wouldn't hold my breath on this one...
I wasn't aware that Paypal meddles with blogs now. Maybe they're just suspicious that the funds are not really being used as stated, just like what corrupt politicians do, so they interfere with it and investigate the matter first to see if it's real before releasing the funds? Anyway, I also think that for now there will be no real alternative to Paypal, since it monopolized the online payment processor world for many years now, and not a single company became a close competitor.
I don't think there will ever be a direct substitute to Paypal since what they have achieved is unique to them. The closest would be alternatives that have advantages that are unique to others such as being offered in certIn sites that Paypal doesn't support. I think all competitors now realize they should have something original to offer so finding one that is almost exactly like Paypal would probably be unlikely in my opinion.
I'm willing to try Payza, Google Pay, Moneybookers and Web Money but for now I'm settling with PayPal for security reasons. True enough, I've not yet encountered any problem with their payment system except for that one occasion when I linked my debit card. They handled the situation so poorly and I almost wanted to pull out. However, all is well now and I've discovered there's actually no need to link my debit accounts because I can just directly transfer the money to any of my local bank accounts and retrieve it within 2 to 4 business days.
I would like to think so because I'm still pissed at them for not defending me but I don't see it happening because they have companies beat in terms of things like convenience. They may not be personable or have likability as a company (I used to think I was alone but just check out the website PayPal Sucks) but their product does work better than the others.
