PayPal Opens Platform To Developers
Following through with its announcement last month, PayPal has opened its platform to developers in hopes of reaping new ways to use the online payment service.
Last month, Scott Thompson, president of PayPal, mentioned the open developer plan at a Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.
"In just two weeks, PayPal will be the first global online payment service to open its platform to everyone," said Thompson.
"We hope and expect to unleash the power of digital money regardless of the currency and regardless of the platform in any country in the world."
On Tuesday, PayPal formally launched the new initiative at the PayPal X Innovate conference, also held in San Francisco.
"The big claim to fame is we made things very easy if you want to pay for things online," Thompson told AFP on Tuesday.
"The Internet is doing things to people’s lives today that nobody imagined, replacing longstanding industries. At the end of the day, you want to take advantage of that."
Some companies got the green light earlier than others for the new open development platform. They displayed their new creations on Tuesday.
MedPayOnline.com was among the firms who got to use the open platform early. They have developed a system that would allow patients to pay doctors through PayPal.
"They are using PayPal X to improve the way consumers pay for medical bills and doctor visits, making the everyday lives of consumers easier," said PayPal platform vice president Osama Bedier.
"Bottom line: Working together, we will drive the next wave of payment innovation," the San Francisco Chronicle quoted eBay chief executive John Donahoe.
"You, the developer community, will create it. We, PayPal, will support it. Most importantly, millions and millions of consumers and merchants worldwide will benefit."
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