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elgato posted an article that ran in PCWorld yesterday regarding "Secure Card". PCWorld referred to the card as a debit card. According to MarketWatch, it's a card that has been created by partnering with MasterCard for use on sites that do not accept PayPal.

There's speculation regarding the reason for this move and the impact it will have on PP's brand.

Excerpts from the article:

PayPal partners with MasterCard for faster growth
By Scott Morrison
Last Update: 6:31 AM ET Nov 20, 2007

"SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- PayPal, the alternative online payment services provider, will on Tuesday place a bet that it can extend its reach and boost its brand faster by partnering with credit card giant and sometimes rival MasterCard Inc. (MA:mastercard inc)
PayPal, a unit of Internet auctioneer eBay Inc. (EBAY:ebay inc com) , will introduce a new service that allows its 164 million account holders to make payments on ecommerce sites that take MasterCard but have not agreed to accept PayPal.

The service is part of the unit's strategy to reduce its dependence on eBay auction transactions, but some observers said PayPal's move is a gambit that could over the long term diminish its brand and reduce profit margin."...

..."Why would merchants have any incentive now to accept PayPal?" asked Witt. "They have recently touted their success in signing up new merchants. This is a move that would almost suggest they are having trouble signing up new merchants."

"It's a concession that (PayPal's) direct sales efforts to merchants aren't going that well," agreed Keith Rabois, a former executive vice president at PayPal. Rabois added that the company first considered the strategy five years ago, but decided against it because it did not believe customers would actually download the software.

Cundiff said PayPal may have a strong enough brand to sit side by side credit card giants MasterCard, Visa Inc. and American Express Co. (AXP: American Express Company), but he agreed there was an inherent risk in trying to fold PayPal into the mainstream payment infrastructure.

Another drawback is that PayPal will have to share all revenues generated through its agreement with MasterCard, raising questions about the payment unit's ability to maintain its profit margins.

A PayPal spokeswoman confirmed that transaction fees generated through the new partnership would be collected by MasterCard issuer JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM:JPMorgan Chase & Co) , but she was unable to clarify how the revenue would be distributed."

read entire article here: PayPal partners with MasterCard for faster growth

knappschiles · Joined: 25 May 2005 Posts: 4035 Location: Wi

a new service that allows its 164 million account holders to make payments on ecommerce sites that take MasterCard but have not agreed to accept PayPal.

AAHH, isn't that what the PP debit card is for. At least that is what I use it for. Sure you can only "charge" up to your PP current amount, but you can always "transfer money into PP from your bank account if you know you are going to buy something big.

Looks like more eBay think has invaded PP. In other words create something you don't need because you already have something similar but don't realize it or forgot about it.

Carol

mojavelyn · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:32 pm Post subject:

Another drawback is that PayPal will have to share all revenues generated through its agreement with MasterCard, raising questions about the payment unit's ability to maintain its profit margins.

Well, sure they will... its called raising fees.

But... any credit card processor, also charges the site for credit card processing.