PayPal

DEALS: Apple buys chipmaker

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:52 -0400

DEALS
WHO	WITH	WHAT	SCOOP
Apple	PA Semi	Apple bought chipmaker PA Semi for about $278 million.	The deal is a particular slap in the face for Intel. Apple could use it to drive Intel's prices down.
Essar	Obopay	Essar acquired a strategic stake in Obopay.	Essar did not disclose the pricetag for the acquisition.
PayPal, mFoundry	Sprint Nextel	PayPal and mFoundry inked a deal with Sprint for P2P payments.	The mobile money transfer offering is part of Sprint's MyMoneyManager and works with 18 handsets currently.

mFoundry - Top Wireless Company 2008: FierceWireless, Fierce 15

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:31:25 -0400

mFoundry

Where it's based: Sausalito, Calif.
When it was founded: 2004

Why it's fierce: mFoundry is winning over the mobile banking market one financial institution at a time: Last year it worked with Citibank to take its services to the mobile platform and this year will bring mFoundry's total up to 15 or 20 banks. It's no wonder mFoundry is becoming the platform for mobile banking: Motorola and PayPal are among its investors. The startup's partnership with PayPal puts it in position to take on the peer-to-peer money transfer market in the U.S. with carrier partners like Sprint Nextel. mFoundry is also one of the few companies in the mobile financial services sector to offer up a software development kit (SDK) for developers looking to leverage its platform.

What to look for: National Cash Registers (NCR) is another key investor for mFoundry-and one that signals the next big market for the startup: near field communications. NCR will be instrumental in helping mFoundry break into the near field communications game because NCR is one of the biggest hardware providers for point-of-sale terminals. mFoundry, however, has no plans to go for an initial public offering, but expect any company looking to compete with Qualcomm, which recently acquired mFoundry competitor Firethorn, to snap up mFoundry.

SPOTLIGHT: Paypal's mobile Web e-commerce service

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:01:32 -0400

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, eBay subsidiary PayPal is developing a new, mobile payment service that will launch by year-end. The planned service is simple: e-commerce vendors will set up mobile sites (WAP?) and consumers will visit them and pay for services like concert tickets or even pizza delivery. PayPal spokeswoman Amanda Pires said, "It's easier to read, it's more secure, and it's designed for the mobile Web environment." PayPal launched its peer-to-peer mobile money transfer service about a year ago, but this service would mark its first foray into m-commerce for e-vendors. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

Amp'd, Obopay team up for mobile transactions

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 20:01:36 -0400

MVNO Amp'd Mobile is moving aggressively into the mobile payment service arena through a deal with Obopay. The two will offer a new mobile payment service, Obopay-Amp'd, to Amp'd Mobile subscribers in the coming months as well as aggressively promote the service on university campuses across the country this fall. Obopay recently announced a downloadable application that that allows e-commerce sites to accept payments directly from Obopay accounts. The mobile transaction trend is heating up. PayPal launched a service that allows wireless users to make purchases and send and receive funds via cell phones.

To read more about the partnership between Amp'd and Obopay:
- check out this release

Metric: Mobile payments to hit $10B by 2010

Mon, 08 May 2006 20:01:37 -0400

According to a recent report from Juniper Research, the mobile payment sector, fueled by the addition of PayPal Mobile, will rise to $10 billion in total revenue by 2010, up from $155 million last year. The new PayPal Mobile service enables users to send money to friends, donate to charities and purchase items via their handset. Last year saw 78 million mobile payment transactions, which is set to rise to 175 million this year.

For more on m-payments:
- take a look at the press release at Juniper's site

ALSO NOTED: PayPal officially launches PayPal Mobile; Telephia reports surge in US data usage; and much more...

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:00:41 -0400

> PayPal officially launched its PayPal Mobile service. The new SMS-based payment service has already attracted several high-level merchants, such as MTV and Fox Home Entertainment. Article

> Telephia reports that U.S. text and multimedia messaging, mobile Web, and downloads reached the 50-percent adoption mark during the fourth quarter last year, rising 7 percentage points since the beginning of the year. Article

> European mobile holding company Millicom International Cellular has reached an agreement to acquire a 4 percent share in its Paraguayan mobile unit Telecel. Article

And Finally... Brazil's second-largest mobile operator, TIM, expects the country's mobile market to surge to 100 million users this year. Article

M-payments heat up with PayPal's plans

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 19:01:39 -0500

The idea of mobile commerce is heating up again, but this time there is finally some reality to it. eBay's PayPal is testing a service would let mobile phone users send or receive payments to other people or make purchases directly if the retailer provides a short-text code for that purpose. The idea of m-commerce imploded in 2002. Lousy user experience, bad user interfaces, slow-speed networks, security issues and the problematic distribution of money between content providers, retailers, carriers and handset vendors all contributed to the quick downfall of the m-commerce dream. Today, it appears some of these shortcomings have been addressed, and we're seeing some well-known e-commerce players entering the space and handset makers incorporating the idea of the m-wallet. Of course, using text messaging for purchases isn't that exciting, but text messaging is a service a lot of folks know how to use. It will take players like PayPal, one of the world's renowned payment-processing companies, to push m-commerce mainstream.

To read more about PayPal's mobile commerce plans:
- check out this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

PayPal planning mobile payment group

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:01:39 -0500

PayPal began recruiting business and product heads for a new mobile payments start-up unit. The subsidiary of online auction house eBay has posted ads on job boards for a business manager and a senior product manager in what it calls the PayPal Mobile group. While a nascent market, TextPayMe has already introduced a new PayPal-like service that allows users to send and receive funds via SMS. This might be the kick in the pants m-commerce needs.

To read more about PayPal's mobile payment plans:
- read this article from finextra.com

eBay chief predicts free phone calls in 4 to 6 years

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 20:01:37 -0400

eBay CEO Meg Whitman defended the company's $4.1 billion acquisition of Skype by asserting that since voice data services are moving more and more to the Internet, four to six years from now phone calls will be free. eBay expects the price for voice transmission to trend to zero because the pricing paradigm is shifting from revenue per minute to the size of the subscriber base or "ecosystem." eBay will soon allow users to pay for Skype calls with their Paypal accounts. Skype expects to generate about $60 million in revenue for 2005, with revenue growing to more than $200 million in 2006.

eBay's five pronged Skype plan includes integrating Skype with each of the company's brands and properties, getting every Skype user to use PayPal, sell click ads for inbound Skype calles, use the VoIP service to penetrate its hard-to-crack Asian markets and sell add-on Skype services. However, eBay did not break down how these prongs jointly point to $4.1 billion.

For more on eBay's designs on the VoIP market:
- take a look at this article from vnunet.com

Sun, Bango start mobile game delivery service

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 20:01:36 -0400

Mobile content solutions developer Bango and Sun Microsystems are teaming up to deliver Java-based mobile games and applications to mobile devices. The service will streamline the process of paying for and locating games and applications for the mobile phone. The service requires users register at java.com. After registering, a WAP Push message is sent to the user's mobile phone. The message opens automatically on their handset and connects the user to java.com. Users of the service can pay via credit card, Paypal or wireless bill. The venture will service subscribers of over 250 wireless carriers worldwide.

For more on Sun and Bango's new mobile content service:
- read this press release

Rumor Mill: eBay to buy Skype for $3B

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 20:01:39 -0400

According to a story in the The Wall Street Journal, eBay is in talks to buy Skype for between $2 billion and $3 billion. Neither company has confirmed the rumor. Skype claims 50 million users with many insiders estimating its yearly revenues between $50 million and $60 million. Skype's software and service could help eBay improve customer service and boost its presence overseas.

Some say buying the VoIP company for the rumored figure is risky since it would put eBay in a new market. Unlike eBay's most prolific acquisition -- PayPal -- Skype would not necessarily strengthen its core business of online auctions. PayPal, the electronic pay service, now accounts for one-fourth of eBay's total revenue. Yahoo and Google have already launched Skype-like VoIP offerings.

For more on the Skype, eBay rumor:
- read this story from MarketWatch