There’s little doubt that the biggest change on eBay in many years is on its way and it’s going to take some getting used to by merchants. As we’ve written numerous times in recent months eBay has made a partnership with Adyen and will be “intermediating’ payments itself. PayPal will no longer be the automatic choice for eBay payments.
Details are gradually emerging of what the new system will be like as the testing phase has started with buyers and sellers in the United States already using it. We’ve written about the latest details that are available here.
The big win for eBay is easy to understand. Having passed through its divorce with PayPal, it made perfect sense to take the next step and unshackle the marketplace entirely from the payments firm. Whilst, in less sophisticated days, for internet shopping enjoying the benefits of having a popular payments firm in-house made perfect sense. But nearly two decades later, the relationship became restrictive. Not lest because PayPal was typically compulsory on eBay.
But PayPal isn’t universal and the way that online payments are approached by shoppers in different countries varies. So the primary benefit for eBay lies with now being able to offer a much wider choice of payments services in the ever more diverse payments environment. For instance it is notable that Apple Pay will be available on eBay.
But whilst making payments easy for buyers, it’s important not to forget merchant needs and there is a tangible sense of disquiet amongst merchants now finding out more about the new regime as the comments on Tamebay attest. Specifically, sellers need and welcome the flexibility to administer their business as they see fit. For instance, the freedom to receive disbursements how and when they wish to fit in with their accounting structures.
It’s worth remembering that this payments transition on eBay is going to take several years and, as it stands, not all the details are available, These are still very early days in the testing phase. So, there isn’t any urgent sense of pessimism just yet. So we hope the developers of the new system are observing and listening to merchants and working hard to meet their needs.
2 Responses
I can’t help but worry that Ebay are going to somehow cock this up.
Paddy… and that is where most people are coming from. Ebays history of not thinking is well known. In most cases it’s a time consuming nuisance, but this time it could cause really headaches and possible financial loss to many if it’s implemented in usual Ebay fashion. If they get this badly wrong, it really could be the ebay killer, as neither buyers nor sellers will forgive them.
Sadly i feel that just as in the past, ebay will withold information for as long as possible, causing fear, rumour, and ‘flight’ from the platform. Then when it goes live, customer services will be ill informed, not qualified or simply not bothered!
It’s a damming view, but it is built on over 12 years on ebay… Sad as it has so much potential and promise, but the blindfold is well and truely in place now!