PayPal has merged all its payment tools into one service called PayPal Products as it seeks to provide an all-in-one solution for US SMEs.
Following on from the recent launch of PayPal Here, the new product suite allows business customers to access online, in-person and mobile payment tools.
A blog post announcing the PayPal Products says that the aim is to provide SMEs with an integrated multichannel payment solution:
Small businesses should be focused on making their customers happy, not spending time worrying about handling the complex task of online, offline and multichannel payments in this new shopping environment.
The options available for SMEs range from a free standard service to a $30 monthly pro service which includes additional payment options for phone transactions and freedom to design your own checkout page.
As part of the announcement PayPal has also revealed that it is dropping the word ‘website’ from its US product names, in the same way that Apple dropped the word ‘computer’ in 2007.
This name change represents our move away from our online heritage to the future of PayPal and the multi-channel nature of payments in the new retail environment.
Bringing all its products under one roof reflects PayPal’s new strategy to become a catch-all payment option both online and in-store for SMEs.
Square stole a march on PayPal with its in-person mobile payment apps, but by tying all its products together PayPal has a comprehensive offering that should prove to be attractive to businesses looking for a simple solution.
PayPal already has 100m users and processed $118bn worth of transactions last year, including $4bn in mobile payments.
Reader comments (3)
10:14PM on 5th April 2012
There's one HUGE impediment to PayPal dominating the SME space... and that's cashflow. The core issue with PayPal as a money collections system is that their core profit lies in interrupting the flow from the payee to the business.
I recently received a payment from a client via PayPal for $5k. While my account states that the money is "available", it's really not. Using my debit card, I can only get $400 out per day. If I decide to pay bills, it's only $3k per day available. And if I need to shift the money to my bank account, it's 3 to 5 business days.
Cashflow is the priority for any small business. While PayPal makes it easier to collect money, it then makes it difficult for SMEs to actually USE those funds. This will inhibit their opportunity to grab market share. Because of this, I've removed them as an option for my clients to pay their bills.
11:15PM on 5th April 2012
There is another issue with PayPal - they are very fond of rolling retainers. Some small businesses have up to 30% 90 day rolling retentions on certain services ( such as virtual terminal) . Whilst Paypal state this is risk based, my own experience proves this not to be the case. This type of activity is incredibly damaging for small businesses but great for PayPal, and highlights their mode of operation.
11:18PM on 5th April 2012
The fact is the eBay marketplace has been dead in the water since John Donahoe started his "destructive renovations" in 2007, and eBay certainly is now all about the newly renamed "PayPal Payments"—unfortunately, it's still the same old clunky "PreyPal".
And just for a laugh, some serious analyses of these clunky PayPal off-eBay products: "The New Way To Pay In-Store", PayPal Here, SmartPay, PayPal Digital Wallet, PayPal Debit MasterCard, PayPal Local and Watch With eBay ...
http://forums.auctionbytes.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24611
eBay / PayPal / Donahoe: Dead Men Walking
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