You’ve probably received an email today from PayPal outlining a selection of changes that are coming to the PayPal user agreement. You can read about them fully on this page. The changes will come into force on 19th November 2016.
So what is included? There’s a quite a lot: changes to buyer and seller protection terms, changes to foreign currency exchange terms, specific arrangements for dealing people in Brazil to pull out a few points.
But two changes in particular leap out as worthy of highlighting:
Firstly, PayPal will be permitted to use your logo and other items of your trademark when depicting your company on the PayPal site or app. The new terms say: “You grant the PayPal Group the worldwide right to use and depict your business name, trademarks and logos on our website and in our mobile and web applications for the purpose of displaying information about your business and its products and services.”
And secondly, there’s a change to the terms which means that when you offer PayPal on your website it must get equal billing with all other payment methods offered and you must not discourage people from using PayPal.
And in a rather stern and draconian turn of phrase, thou shall not speak ill of PayPal: “In representations to your customers or in public communications, you shall not mischaracterise or disparage PayPal as a payment method.”
You’ve been warned.
14 Responses
And if you have any questions or are not happy with these changes – follow this link – – – to close your account.
Such lovely people.
Dan why is there a link on the right (under recent posts) to an article called eBay UK 50,000 listing Business seller promo which you posted in September 2015? I just spent 10 mins on the phone asking eBay why I had not been invited this time & then I noticed the date. It’s a little bit annoying.
is this actually legal?
so Paypal could now, for example, take Argos branding, IP & logos, and do whatever the hell they please with it?
no recoprocal requirement, so in theory, paypal could run a massive banner with the argos name & logo saying something like “Paypal is the best payment, no questions”, as if that was an Argos quote, and argos can do nothing about it?
and we all need to agree to this in order to continue selling on ebay too?
seems massively unethical and in contradiction to several laws.
Do folk still whinge or discourage Paypal these days? surprised if they did, it’s a fantastic business.
Unsure why anyone wouldn’t want Paypal to advertise there business on Paypal’s websites.
It’s the draconian turn of phrase that Dan mentions that bothers me. I recommend everyone check the T&C’s for themselves. You should see all of this stern warning stuff in a large italic font. Nice and subtle. It seems obvious this is the part Paypal most want to draw your attention to. Very unprofessional both in the way it is worded and in the way it is displayed. Would be nice if someone with clout let them know.
“And secondly, there’s a change to the terms which means that when you offer PayPal on your website it must get equal billing with all other payment methods offered and you must not discourage people from using PayPal.”
What does the ‘equal billing’ actually mean?
I first read this as when sites charge you 2% extra to use PayPal that they are no longer allowed to do so?
Or am I reading it wrong?
There are plenty of websites surcharging for the use of credit cards. Are Paypal simply stating that any surcharge must not exceed those shown for other alternative payment methods? Agree that the wording of the threat is extremely unpolished for a company that works in financial services. Can’t ever imagine any other financial services company using such language in its terms and conditions. If however anybody knows of any similar example please offer them up below.
What Tamebay doesn’t mention above is that finally (or at least when this agreement comes into effect in November 2016) they’ve closed the loophole for collected items.
If you’ve been gleefully accepting Paypal for personally collected items, this is the one where the buyer pays by Paypal, collects, then a month later claims the item was not received – and as you have no tracking number, Paypal refund the buyer automatically.
From November 2016, Buyer protection will no longer apply to collected items. As a seller, that at least is a big step forward!