Tag | paypal
With Carrier Rates Dropping, Boku Prepares To Expand Beyond Virtual Goods [Video]
Boku has carved out quite a name for itself in the fast-expanding world of mobile payments for virtual goods. The startup, which has raised more than $40 million since its launch last year, is now in 61 countries and has deals with some 200 carriers. However, while the realm of gaming remains rich (see our latest numbers on Zynga), Boku is ready to expand beyond virtual goods and step into real world transactions— within the next twelve months. By next year, Boku’s co-founder Ron Hirson , predicts that the company will be launching mobile payments for online (non-virtual) transactions and eventually, test programs for brick and mortar purchases. Boku has always wanted to become the PayPal of mobile payments, but has been hindered by lofty carrier rates. Historically, wireless carriers have charged roughly 30 to 40% to process transactions, making it very difficult for mobile payment companies like Boku to scale beyond virtual goods. That dynamic, Hirson says, is quickly shifting. “We’re now seeing and having partnerships with carriers where the rates are coming down to about 10% which enables us to start moving beyond virtual goods that have no cost of good sold, to things like digital goods which have licensing and then maybe even physical goods which actually have material costs… Mobile as an opportunity is starting to plateau, minutes have obviously plateaued and eventually data will follow the same. So there’s a need for carriers to explore new revenue opportunities and payments is a great value added service.” Ten percent is a significant victory, relative to the previous baseline, but Hirson acknowledges that the rates will have to move even lower to support Boku’s grand ambitions. The magic number, he says, is probably near 5%— which he admits may not happen in the near term. For those who are unfamiliar with the service, Boku (a rival of Zong) works with many game developers like Playdom and Playfish. When a user wants to purchase a virtual item, he enters his cell phone number on a site, the site sends a text message to the phone, the user confirms the transaction with a short reply, and all the charges show up on his phone bill. For more on Boku’s 2011 strategy and carrier trends see the video above. On Monday, Hirson was also a guest on TechCrunch NOW with Charlie Graham, Shop It To Me ‘s founder. Fittingly, we discussed Google’s recent investment in Zynga, the gaming company’s massive revenues, and what it means for Boku (that video is below). CrunchBase Information BOKU Ron Hirson Information provided by CrunchBase [tc_brightcove id="
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With Carrier Rates Dropping, Boku Prepares To Expand Beyond Virtual Goods [Video]
PayPal Launches Mobile Express Checkout To Enable One-Click Buying On Smartphones
eBay has made it fairly clear that mobile is the future for e-commerce. And the numbers only reinforce this strategy- mobile payments are poised to reach $200 billion by 2012, according to Juniper Research. So, of course, eBay is wants to make its crown jewel, PayPal, the leader in the mobile payments space. In fact, PayPal’s mobile transactions have grown as smartphone usage has increased, from $25 million in 2008 to $141 million in 2009. In 2010, PayPal expects more than half a billion dollars in mobile payment volume with more than 5 million members regularly using PayPal from their mobile devices. Today, PayPal is making it easier for merchants and consumers to pay for goods on their smartphones with the launch of Mobile Express Checkout. Mobile Express Checkout is the mobile version of PayPal’s Express Checkout service , which is a one-stop payment option streamlines the checkout process for consumers. A buyer will not have to reenter shipping, billing, or payment information for a PayPal payment, expediting the checkout process. All they need to do is enter their PayPal account login. It’s similar in theory to Amazon’s one click ordering option. Merchant Express Checkout has been optimized for smartphone screens and also features strong fraud detection, says PayPal. Mobile Express Checkout is initially being rolled out on the iPhone and Android 2.0 (and higher) devices by a few retailers, including Nike and Buy.com, over the next few weeks. The technology will eventually become available to all retailers in the next few months. PayPal sees this new mobile technology has an opportunity to allow the company’s 85 million members to easily buy goods on their phones using PayPal’s technology versus inputing a credit card. The company is sure to be on to something with this strategy-inputing your credit card, shipping and billing info on a phone is an arduous and time consuming task. Automating this process is surely the future of mobile payments and shopping. Of course, it’s safe to assume the credit card companies, like Mastercard and Visa, will also be heading down this road soon. CrunchBase Information PayPal eBay Information provided by CrunchBase
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PayPal Launches Mobile Express Checkout To Enable One-Click Buying On Smartphones
Bling Nation Adds A Paypal Option To Cell Phone Payments
Startup Bling Nation has landed a pretty major deal with PayPal, we’ve learned. Bling Nation’s payment systems addresses physical goods in merchant stores and will now allow consumers to use their payment chips to deduct funds from a PayPal account. Here’s how Bling Nation works. The startup partners with banks, who then offer the consumers who use their services a Bling Nation and “Bank” branded chip that can be stuck onto any cell phone device. The chip will allow any user to make a payment directly out of their checking account similar to a debit payment. Bling Nation also partners with all of the local merchants in given town, to give them special “Bling Nation” credit card machines that will scan the chips. The payment device will calculate the number of times a payee has made a transaction and as an added bonus, will automatically award the user with coupons, points or discounts, which the merchant determines. The device will read the chip and deduct the money for a purchase out of the payee’s bank account. Bling Nation even allows merchants to implement a security feature, in which upon purchase, the customer will have to enter a PIN code for larger transactions. With the deal with PayPal, anyone will be use Bling Nation to link a PayPal account and receive tags that they can then stick to their cell phones. You may also be able to enroll during the checkout process as well. And Bling Nation in turn will equip merchants in given areas with payment devices that work with the chip. This is a big win for Bling Nation’s system, which originally had ambitions of solely focusing on hyperlocal banks in small communities. The PayPal integration is currently being tested in Palo Alto and is steadily being rolled out nationally. Most of the work involves distributing the payments devices to local merchants. Enrollment is limited for now, says co-founder Meyer Malka. Consumers can sign up for the service at participating merchants and eventually through the web. The deal also represents a way for consumers to start paying for physical goods, not just online purchases, with their PayPal accounts. Bling Nation recently raised a whopping $20 million in funding to scale its system. Armed with a deal with PayPal, the startup is well on its way to making it into stores nationwide. And PayPal is one step closer to fulfilling its futuristic vision for the payments platform, as shown in this video. CrunchBase Information Bling Nation Information provided by CrunchBase
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Bling Nation Adds A Paypal Option To Cell Phone Payments
PayPal Powers eBay’s First Quarter, eBay Beats Consensus
eBay squeezed past the Street’s expectations, reporting first quarter profits of 42 cents a share (or $554.2 million) on revenues of $2.2 billion, analysts were looking for profits of 41 cents a share. Revenues gained 9% from the year ago, thanks to a jump in sales in the Payments and the Marketplace businesses. Gross margins dropped slightly to 30.6% in the period, down from 30.7%, driven by growth in PayPal (a relatively lower-margin business). “We are improving the fundamentals of our business, strengthening eBay Marketplaces and aggressively growing PayPal to become the leader in global online payments,” CEO John Donahoe said in the press release. For the second quarter, eBay is looking for revenues of $2.15 to $2.20 billion and non-GAAP earnings of $0.37 to $0.39 a share. The company’s Payments division continues to be eBay’s growth driver, achieving a record first quarter as PayPal gained increased traction on eBay . Some key numbers: overall payment volume rose 35% to $21.3 billion, sales advanced 26% to $809.3 million. In the release, eBay said it remains “focused on consumer and merchant adoption on and off eBay, expansion of PayPal’s open platform initiative and the ongoing integration of Bill Me Later.” On the Payments end, there were several news events during the quarter (including a major deal with China UnionPay), especially its progress on the mobile front. The company’s Send Money app was downloaded more than a million times in its first three weeks and PayPal X (a platform developers can use to process mobile transactions with PayPal) has already recorded $30 million in payment volume. Its marketplaces segment, led by eBay, showed decent growth in the quarter, helped by currency fluctuations and overall revenue growth (sales added 13% to $1.4 billion). Highlights From The Conference Call: – Mobile is driving significant e-commerce and payments volume. – Approximately 8 million merchants accept PayPay, 84 million active or registered accounts – Nearly 60% of PayPal’s TPV comes from merchant services – eBay’s Sold items in US, UK accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter – Still trying to position eBay as a fashion destination – eBay’s mobile app has been downloaded 8.5 million times – Marketplace turnaround is “on track” – Maintaining full-year guidance – 40% of PayPal’s TPV (total payments volume) was generated outside the US, versus 35% for the year ago period – 60% of Marketplaces’ revenues were generated outside of the US, versus 54% for the year ago period. – Expects PayPal’s global take rate to come down more during the course of the year. – Ongoing weakness in Western Europe. – On Asia, visiting China: “Man, there’s just really, really impressive growth.” – In addition to the China UnionPay deal, eBay has signed deals w. Singapore, South Africa, and Japanese payment gateways. – PayPal will grow faster than expected and margins will be higher this year, increasingly confidence in marketplace changes. That will be somewhat offset by currency and tax rate issues. -Still expects margins in marketplace business to be 42% for the rest of the year. CrunchBase Information eBay Information provided by CrunchBase
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PayPal Powers eBay’s First Quarter, eBay Beats Consensus
Alfred Lin To Leave Zappos, Join Sequoia Capital
Alfred Lin , the COO/CFO of Zappos, has left the company and will join Sequoia Capital . Lin was the no. 2 executive at Zappos at the time of its acquisition by Amazon , and has had a nearly flawless resume as an entrepreneur over the years. Every company he’s worked for has been acquired, and the smallest deal was $265 million. See our post “Alfred Lin Has The Midas Touch: The Man With $2 Billion In Acquisitions Under His Belt.” Lin isn’t leaving Zappos until the beginning of 2011. Here’s the email Lin sent to all employees at Zappos earlier today: Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:13:50 -0700 From: Alfred Lin To: employees@zappos.com Subject: Life Changing Moments First, I’m sorry for letting you know all this information in an email. If it was doable, I would have preferred to speak to each of you personally, but that is sadly not really possible. The idea of thinking through whom I should tell first and in what order was also very agonizing. Being true to our core values, it is just a lot easier to be open and honest and let everyone know sooner rather than later. Although this still feels a little weird as I write this, we don’t shy away from weirdness at Zappos, so here it is… First, Rebecca (my wife and my true boss) and I are getting into the baby business. 
Rebecca’s now 9 weeks along and so far so good. I’ve learned more about the baby business than I would have even expected, like why, in general, you might not want to tell too many people until after the first 12 weeks. Or why, when a woman reaches a certain age, her pregnancy gets classified as a high-risk pregnancy. 
(I am probably going to get hit over the head for that.) In any case, keep your fingers crossed and we are really delighted to share this happy news with all of you. Over the past 2 months, Rebecca and I have talked a lot more about what is important to us and what we should do as a family. It is the general stuff you talk about, but you may only talk about superficially until it hits you that you are actually going to be a parent. As agonizing as it is for us to come to this conclusion, we really believe that the right place for us as a family is to move back to the SF Bay Area and be closer to some of our extended family. To complicate the life discussions, if you had asked me 5 or 10 years ago what I am passionate about and what my higher purpose would be, I would have said that my calling is to help interpret the visions and dreams of entrepreneurs about how the world should be and help build businesses around those visions and dreams. So to that end, I wanted to be a venture capitalist and join Sequoia Capital. They’ve financed and helped built some really special and enormously successful companies, including Google, Yahoo, Paypal, YouTube, Cisco, Oracle, Apple, and also Zappos. I had explored joining them twice, but things never really worked out before. Recently, I went out to beers and then dinner with a few of their partners to catch up on life and in their inebriated state, they made the silly mistake of extending me a position on their team roster (although the envelope was actually marked “For Rebecca”). You might be shocked to read that I have decided to leave Zappos. It has been a hard decision, and I am still in a bit of a daze myself, but I am also very excited. I have learned so much from all of you along our journey and I am excited to put that knowledge to work to help finance and help build companies in the special ways we have built Zappos. So the silver lining is that hopefully Zappos will give birth to other very special and enormously successful companies. Tony, Fred and I have had a few conversations with some folks at Amazon and they are committed to helping us find the right person to fill my sample-size shoes (9D). As always with any Zappos employee, that person will, first and foremost, have to live and breathe the Zappos culture, and help continue the good work to build the Zappos brand, business, and culture, independent of Amazon. Now that the news is out, I also want to assure you that I am not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m committed to Tony, Fred, Amazon, and each and every one of you to making this a very smooth transition. To that end, I plan to stay at Zappos through January 3, 2011. Of course, this timeline may change, since our business continues to grow fast and each and every one of you do such an amazing job that I am sure the transition can and may be completed sooner. In any case, while parting is such sweet sorrow, it is not time to say our goodbyes yet. We have some work to do and always will…like taking first place in the Corporate Challenge relay tonight. Hope to see you there. Update: Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh emails employees . CrunchBase Information Alfred Lin Zappos Sequoia Capital Amazon Information provided by CrunchBase
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Alfred Lin To Leave Zappos, Join Sequoia Capital
More material for web site owners
Here’s some more stuff you should know about. – I did a monster-long interview with Eric Enge . I think the interview lasted an hour or something like that, and we covered several areas in depth. – Next, take a break and go read this post by Rhea Drysdale . Heck, maybe send her a donation by Paypal ( Added : the address if you want to send a Paypal donation is rhea_drysdale [at] yahoo [dot] com). Rhea took on a big fight for the benefit of the SEO industry, saw it through to the end — and won! In the process, she earned the sort of credibility that you just can’t buy. – We continue to answer webmaster questions over on the YouTube webmaster video channel . My recent favorite video is an eight-minute discussion of “What are some good link-building techniques ?” We now have over 200 videos live on the webmaster video channel , including topics such as “Is it worth spending time on tags and categories?” You might want to check out the video channel; there’s a lot of good material there. You can also follow me or the Google webmaster account on Twitter; we often tweet when new webmaster videos are released.
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More material for web site owners
