Question
EBay has initiated a SAFE PAYMENTS POLICY which will go into effect on January 15, 2006. Although I'm happy to see that payment via GreenZap has officially been banned, I don't really like eBay dictating what type of payment services can be used by their sellers. Even though there's a high incidence of fraud with instant cash transfer services, there are also legitimate uses for such services. Is PayPal tightening the noose another notch?
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200510141748482.html
Safe Payments Policy
eBay wants to ensure that the marketplace offers an array of safe and convenient payment choices for its buyers. As described in our safe buying guide, eBay strongly encourages sellers to offer payments through PayPal – PayPal is not only convenient to use, but it also offers buyers and sellers industry leading protection against fraud, chargebacks and theft of financial data. Merchants with their own merchant credit card processing account, and those who use a third-party processor, may also offer their buyers the option of paying directly with a credit card online (including through third party checkout) or by phone.
From time to time, as new payment services arise, eBay will evaluate them to determine whether they may present trust and safety concerns and are appropriate for the marketplace. eBay will consider the following factors, among others, in making its determination:
Whether the payment model offers substantial financial, privacy and anti-fraud protection for buyers and sellers
Whether the payment model raises the potential for confusion among eBay users, or involves incentives that may present fraud concerns
Whether the payment model involves precious metals, or other non-cash (points, miles, minutes, coupons, discounts) as consideration
Whether the payment service has a substantial historical track record of providing safe and reliable financial and/or banking related services (new services without such a track record generally cannot be promoted on eBay)
The identity, background and other business interests of the payment service sponsor
The license/regulatory status of the payment provider in the countries where it provides payment services
Offline payment methods generally do not offer the same level of protection or convenience as online payments. Nonetheless, they may be appropriate for certain types of transactions, and sellers may use listings to offer acceptance of most valid financial instruments, including personal checks, cashier’s checks, money orders including BidPay, or COD.
Policy
Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including Mastercard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept ban- to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers, and the online money order service Bidpay. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders (including Bidpay), cashier’s checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments.
Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment services not listed in this policy.
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions including:
Listing cancellation
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Loss of PowerSeller status
Account suspension
This policy does not affect any payment method commonly offered on eBay today. However, there are some sellers who have listings offering to accept cash and Western Union instant cash transfer, and a few who offer other payment methods that are not permitted under this policy. To avoid disruption of these sellers’ business during the holiday shopping season, eBay will delay enforcement of this policy against existing payment methods until Jan 15, 2006. This policy will be localized for other eBay sites in the coming months.
Some Examples (Bolding mine)
Under the above criteria, eBay does not permit sellers to solicit payment for eBay items through Greenzap.com or e-gold payments. Sellers may not solicit payment through “topping off” of a seller’s pre-paid credit or debit card.
Why does eBay have this policy?
Safety and convenience are at the core of eBay’s policies toward payments. This policy is designed to promote safe online shopping, and to encourage online payment methods that are safe, easy to use, reliable, and offer high levels of protection for users. The policy also attempts to preserve some flexibility for users that still prefer offline payment methods.
Blanche
Answer
Originally Posted by bhearsch
Is PayPal tightening the noose another notch?
Sure they are. I already have customers who think paypal is the ONLY way they can pay me in spite of the bold letters in my ad that indicate lots of options.
By the way, I like the spell check button. Is that new?
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I don't see a spell check button. Maybe JavaScript is needed in order to see it?
Blanche
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Blanche, is that really you?
I don't see much harm in the policy. It basically allowd for the more sensible options. It tries to ban options that are questionable.
I find it interesting that eBay mentions BidPay. I wonder if like other major sites offer online payment, how eBay will handle it. Will eBay ban all sites not mention in the above policy?
Answer
Hi commentary. Yes, it's really me.
Will eBay ban all sites not mention in the above policy?
Well, that's the big question and I don't know the answer.
Blanche
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Quote from the above announcement:
"Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment services not listed in this policy."
It will be interesting to see what happens if/when Google and/or JPMorgan Chase rollout their announced online payment products
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I can see the policy says a seller can not solicit buyers to send cash (who in their right mind would do that anyhow), but I don't see anything that indicates what, if anything, happens if the buyer sends cash anyway. Maybe it doesn't matter, because it's just the buyer's word against the seller's with cash.
(I guess I'm too tired to think through this...but I started to wonder if ebay was somehow 'guaranteeing' the payments they listed and what that meant ultimately. I'll check back tomorrow sometime to see what you all think of this. Thanks for posting it Blanche! And nice to see you again!)
Elaine
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It will be interesting to see what happens if/when Google and/or JPMorgan Chase rollout their announced online payment products
I was wondering that too... whether this is some sort of preemption by eBay.
Cheers
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My thoughts exactly, reston_ray. (A little too exactly, since I typed almost the same post word-for-word just as you were submitting yours. )
Seems to me that eBay/PayPal are skating on pretty thin ice here. PayPal, a Silicon Valley startup acquired by another Silicon Valley startup, has always acted as if it lived in some alternate universe where US banking and financial services law didn't apply.
But PayPal wants to expand far beyond the eBay sandbox, which could be a real threat to the future of the big financial services firms. I'm sure JP Morgan Chase, for one, has enough corporate lawyers to populate a medium-sized town, with a much better understanding of the relevant financial regulations, who could keep PayPal real busy fo a long time. Interesting indeed.
Ms. C.
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I wonder if USPS postage stamps are allowed as payment under this policy???
Ms. C.