Earlier this year, eBay announced that it was ending its partnership with PayPal, its longtime handler of online payment processing, which has facilitated transactions both here and abroad for the better part of two decades. At one time, eBay actually owned PayPal, but decided to spin off the service a few years ago to unlock its potential — as Wall Street analysts claim — and enable it to enter payment processing agreements with other etailers, such as Amazon. We have since learned that eBay will be rolling out its own payment processor this September, initially offered by invitation only until it is ready to go prime time with all of its sellers and customers. At some point, according to eBay, PayPal will no longer be accepted as its principal form of payment although eBay has hinted that it will make it available again as an alternative means of payment processing, perhaps as early as 2019 once it feels confident that their own service will take center stage.
Adyen has reportedly been enlisted to handle eBay’s payment processing, and the new system has been reportedly called Ebay Payments. According to Ecommerce Bytes, the new payment system has entered the beta phase with a number of select merchants. We will post more information on these changes as soon as they are rolled out this September. Keep in mind we will still accept PayPal as a form of payment on our own web site, in addition to all of the major credit cards, AmazonPay and potentially ApplePay once it too has been approved as a payment processor by our web hosting solution.
On a personal note, we’ve been selling on eBay for almost two decades ourselves, initially selling a couple of lines of diecast classic cars for a friend. Back then, payment was made by cash, check, or money order, and oftentimes we were left in the lurch for weeks on end waiting to receive payment. When PayPal began, we viewed it as a godsend largely because we were getting paid almost as quickly as an item sold. It also streamlined the international payment process, since everyone was now operating on a level playing field and using PayPal as an intermediary should a problem occur. With their being shunted aside, its almost as if we’re starting over again, forced to create new bonds of trust through a brand new payment system. Ebay has hinted that they plan to incentivize the system, either offering bounties for each person/organization that signs up or perhaps lower payment processing fees to make their new system more attractive to the average seller. Still, it feels as if we are taking a step backwards by having to accept a brand new payment processor that no one is familiar with, hoping that it covers the same types of issues that can sometimes occur between a seller and buyer should the transaction go awry. Its not an enviable system for everyone concerned, but one we have no choice but to take on if we are to continue selling on eBay.
For more information on the upcoming payment intermediation, visit eBay’s Seller Center.
