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贝宝有望成为数字钱包霸主

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从苹果到Visa,许许多多的公司都试图塑造我们在数字时代的支付方式。正在一步步打造新平台的贝宝公司似乎正在成为数字钱包新标准之战的终极赢家。

    自从互联网发展成为一个商业平台以来,一些公司就一直在梦想着打造一种电子货币,它最大限度的实现了无缝连接,成为人们下意识的支付工具,而不必再使用现钞、硬币,不用填写支票,也不用再输入、存储信用卡号码。随着云计算的崛起和智能手机的普及,这种设想正在成为现实。

    因此,致力于研发所谓数字钱包的公司队伍日益壮大:不管是后起之秀(比如Square公司),易趣(eBay)、谷歌(Google)和苹果(Apple)这类大牌公司,还是诸如Visa和万事达(MasterCard)这样的金融服务业巨头,它们都期盼着能够在这个或许不出几年就将变成一个利润丰厚的市场上扮演重要的角色。

    但是,贝宝公司(PayPal)为这个目标奋斗的时间比谁都长。那时,人们还很少说起云计算,大家津津乐道的是网格计算;那时的手机块头还很大,没办法轻轻松松地放进口袋。而就在那个时候,贝宝公司就已经开始着手为一个全球性的电子支付系统奠定基础——设法克服数百个国家的监管程序,努力应对各种形式的网上欺诈,及时回应用户的种种投诉。

    如今,贝宝公司与900万户商家建立了合作关系,并且拥有1.06亿活跃用户。过去几年中,这家隶属于易趣的公司一直在不动声色地筹划一项战略,旨在为这些用户(以及更多的潜在用户)创造一款数字钱包。但这就意味着要提供优于竞争对手的服务,其中一部分竞争对手拥有庞大的用户群体和充沛的资金储备。

    这同时也意味着要像押宝一样,揣测消费者和商家到底愿意接受哪一种数字钱包标准。Square式加密狗是否会成为零售业的日常配件?近近场无线通讯技术(NFC)是否能打消人们的安全顾虑,成为一种常态?信用卡和借记卡账户是否将继续发挥核心作用?最重要的是,究竟哪个品牌将最终将脱颖而出,成为消费者最信赖的移动支付界面?

    贝宝的战略正慢慢地变得清晰起来。收购了BillMeLater、购物搜索引擎Milo和应用程序开发商WHERE和Redlaser等初创企业之后,贝宝已经开始推出若干新功能——最新推出的功能是PayPal Here服务。业界普遍认为,这项于上周正式推出的服务将成为Square公司强有力的竞争者。Square的成名作就是可插入智能手机、用以在商店和餐厅现场支付的加密狗。

    Square正在赢得许多零售商的青睐。贝宝公司表示,它在2011年完成的移动支付款项高达40亿美元,今年预期将突破70亿美元。但Square公司的表现也毫不逊色:该公司在去年处理了总计40亿美元的移动支付款项,主要源自往往被贝宝公司忽略的小型实体零售商。

    两家公司正在迅速地推出比加密狗更为先进的移动支付服务。Square推出了一款名为Card Case的iPhone应用程序——用户向Square的零售客户支付款项时,这款应用可以帮助他们省去刷信用卡的麻烦。PayPal Here也可以让用户在签约零售商哪里实现无线支付。通过与Card.io公司合作,PayPal Here还能够给信用卡拍张照片,而无需使用加密狗。

    As long as the Internet has been a venue for commerce, some companies have dreamed of making electronic cash as seamless and intuitive to use as possible: no cash or coins, no check-writing, no typing in or storing credit card numbers. Thanks to the rise of the cloud and the popularity of smarphones, that idea is becoming real.

    As a result, the names of companies working to create a so-called digital wallet is growing: startups like Square, big-name companies like eBay (EBAY), Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) or financial services giants like Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) – each hoping for a key role in what could in coming years become a lucrative market.

    No company has been working longer at this goal than PayPal. Back when people spoke less of the cloud and more about grid computing, and when mobile phones were too big to fit comfortably inside a pocket, PayPal was laying the foundation for a global e-payment system – working through regulatory processes in hundreds of countries, grappling with myriad forms of online fraud and fielding customer complaints.

    Today, PayPal works with 9 million merchants and 106 million active customers. And over the past couple of years, the eBay (EBAY) unit has been quietly assembling a strategy to create a digital wallet for those customers, and potentially many more. But it means improving on offerings from competitors, some of which have large customer bases and ample cash reserves.

    It also means placing bets on which standards consumers and merchants will embrace. Will Square-like dongles become an everyday accessory in retail? Or will near-field communications overcome security concerns and become the norm? Will credit- and debit- accounts continue to play a central role? And most importantly, which brands will emerge as the most trusted consumer interface to mobile payments?

    Slowly, PayPal's strategy is becoming clearer. After buying startups such as BillMeLater, shopping-engine Milo and app developers WHERE and Redlaser, PayPal has begun rolling out new features – most recently its PayPal Here service. Announced last week, PayPal Here was widely seen as a competitor of Square, the startup noted for the dongle that plugs into smartphones for on-the-spot payments in stores and restaurants.

    Square is catching on with many retailers. PayPal says it saw $4 billion in mobile payments in 2011 and that it expects to top $7 billion this year. But Square also says it processed $4 billion in payments last year, largely from small brick-and-mortar retailers that PayPal has tended to overlook.

    Both companies are quickly moving beyond the simple dongle. Square offers Card Case, an iPhone app that lets people pay Square's retail clients without swiping a plastic card. PayPal Here also allows wireless payments with participating retailers. Through a partnership with Card.io, PayPal Here can also take a photo of a credit card instead of using a dongle.


    但PayPal Here仅仅是该公司正在成形的一项雄心勃勃的战略的一部分而已。过去2个月中,贝宝公司向近2千家家得宝连锁店(Home Depot)推广了其支付技术,以替代信用卡。该公司与POS终端制造商安智公司(Ingenico)和AJB软件设计公司(AJB Software Designs)联手研发了一种店内支付系统,它可以迅速地推广到其他大型连锁店。

    现在就说PayPal Here将不再只是把钱包忘在家中的人用来完成支付的一种方式还为时尚早。贝宝公司预计将在2012年处理的70亿美元在线支付款项并不包括此类在销售现场完成的交易。贝宝向商家收取2.7%的交易费(与Square公司的2.75%大致相当),倘若它的收费比信用卡交易费更便宜,商家们或许会有更大的动力来采用PayPal在线支付服务。

    虽然智能手机是实现在线支付的重要途径,但贝宝的野心远不止于此。除了无所不在的实体收银机终端以外,贝宝还在提供一种可以在个人电脑上完成支付的方案。此外,易趣也势必会进行深度整合,把贝宝糅合到该公司于去年秋天推出、面向线上和线下零售商的商务平台X.Commerce之中。

    贝宝的战略正逐渐变得清晰可见。很显然,该公司的思路非常开阔。它计划将服务推向尽可能多的商业场所,同时设计出一款对商家和消费者都具有吸引力的界面。贝宝公司传讯主管阿努吉•纳亚尔称,从本月开始,该公司将推出更多的变化,“开始从根本上改变消费者对贝宝的认识。”

    到目前为止,这项服务对许多贝宝用户而言仅仅是多种在线支付方式中的一种而已,而大多数在线支付方式都经常被视为信用卡的替代品。经过了数年的悉心规划之后,贝宝或许终于开始悄悄地潜入我们的钱包,如昔日的现钞一样,成为我们日常生活须臾不可离身的寻常之物。今年接下来的时间里,我们应该可以看到贝宝是否能够兑现它的这份承诺。

    译者:任文科

    But PayPal Here is just one part of what the company is planning in what is shaping up to be an ambitious strategy. Over the past two months, PayPal has rolled out its payment technology to nearly 2,000 Home Depot stores as an alternative to credit cards. It's partnered with Ingenico and AJB Software Designs to create an in-store payment system that can be quickly rolled out to other large chains.

    It's too early to tell if PayPal Here will become more than a payment method for people who left their wallets at home. The company's $7 billion estimate for 2012 mobile payments doesn't include such point-of-sale transactions. PayPal charges merchants a 2.7% transaction fee, which is roughly equal to Square's 2.75% and may offer merchants an incentive to push for PayPal if it's cheaper than credit card transactions.

    But as important as smartphones may become in handling payments, PayPal is aiming well beyond them, offering a method of payment on PCs as well as the ubiquitous point-of-service terminals at brick-and-mortar cash registers. Ebay is also sure to integrate PayPal deeply into its X.Commerce initiative, a commerce platform announced last fall for online as well as offline retailers.

    As PayPal's strategy comes slowly into focus, it's clear the company is thinking broadly – positioning its service in as many commercial venues as possible – and designing an interface that appeals to merchants and consumers alike. Anuj Nayar, PayPal's director of communications, says the company will roll out even more changes starting this month that "marks the beginning of fundamental change in what PayPal means to customers."

    Until now, for many PayPal customers, the service has simply been one of multiple ways to pay online, most often seen as an alternative to credit cards. After years of planning, the company may finally be worming its way into our wallets, becoming as commonplace as cash once was. The rest of this year should show whether PayPal can deliver on that promise.

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