Topic: Virtual currencies are on the drawing board at PayPal. (Bitcoin) (Read 851 times)

Not sure if this was already posted.

http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/paypal-eyes-bitcoins-disruptive-potential-20130501-2isa4.html

PayPal, eBay's payments subsidiary, may be closer to accepting Bitcoin in the future, with the company saying it is well-placed to exploit the disruptive potential of the virtual currency.
The online payments processor handled no payments in 1998 but this year had 128 million active accounts and processed $US41 billion ($39.5 billion) in payments in three months.
David Marcus, president of eBay's PayPal unit, has called Bitcoin "truly fascinating" and said PayPal had thought about adding Bitcoin to the 20-odd real currencies it supports.
"I think for us at PayPal it's just a question of whether Bitcoin will make its way to PayPal's funding instrument or not, and, you know, we're kind of thinking about it," said Marcus in an interview with Bloomberg last week.
Advertisement
PayPal has not announced plans to support Bitcoin, however the company told ITPro that it is looking at the currency for its ability to disrupt markets.
"The growth of alternative currencies like Bitcoin have the potential to be disruptive technologies, but they are all still in the early stages of development," a spokesperson from PayPal's headquarters said.
"As the company that created the online payments category over a decade ago, PayPal knows how hard it can be to manage payments globally in a regulated environment. We're closely following this area and look forward to seeing how it develops."
PayPal's expertise at navigating payments regulations may be an advantage for the company. In March, the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen) ruled that service providers that help bridge the gap between Bitcoin and real currency are subject to its record-keeping and reporting requirements. PayPal already complies with these.
Australia has not released an official position on Bitcoin, but financial regulator, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), noted in a 2012 report that digital currencies that are not backed by precious metal are not regulated by Australian anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Companies that serve a similar purpose to PayPal have emerged for Bitcoin transactions, but they remain small by comparison and may not have the regulatory experience of PayPal.
The US start-up BitPay offers merchants a facility to accept Bitcoin payments and lock-in exchange rates. It completed about 5000 bitcoin invoices in March valued at $US5.2 million.
On the other hand, Bitcoin service providers are attractive in part because PayPal is subject to regulations the virtual currency is not. The currency's acceptance worldwide is increasing.
Two of BitPay's notable clients include Wordpress.com and Berlin-based short-term rental site 9flats.com. Both companies say they chose to accept Bitcoins because PayPal did not support customer payments from some countries.
An Australian company based on Bitcoin recently launched out of China. Called BitFash, it aims to let consumers use Bitcoins at fashion retailers' websites.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/paypal-eyes-bitcoins-disruptive-potential-20130501-2isa4.html#ixzz2S6EAbPW4