OT [nzlug] Vendor of bits & pieces in NZ who does Paypal

[Phillip Hutchings]

On 7/11/06, Vik Olliver <vik at econz.co.nz> wrote:
> On Tue, 2006-07-11 at 09:20 +1200, Hadley Rich wrote:
> > I don't think that is the problem. IMHO the problem is that PayPal aren't a
> > bank and aren't local. This means that they don't really answer to anyone
> > around here so theoretically could do anything they like with your money.
> > That and the fact that they don't do NZ$ so you are looking at extra fees
> > means that paypal isn't an attractive option for a merchant.
>
> Um, no, they can't do anything they like with my money any more than the
> Australian-owned ASB can. Mastercard and Visa aren't local either. Last
> I checked Mastercard was based in New York, and Visa in San Francisco.

Wrong. ASB is a registered bank in Aus, and therefore has to obey
certain laws about transparency, fees, and giving you your money.
PayPal is not a registered bank in the US, it's a private company.
They actually have no direct legal obligation to give you the money
and not charge extortionate fees, though as it's the service they
offer you could easily win in court if you had the money and patience
to go through the US court system.

> They do NZ$ - I have transferred money from my own Paypal account into
> my own NZ$ Visa account for a very nominal fee.

Is your account a business account?

> What I'm picking up is an aura of distrust by many people specifically
> concerning Paypal, and I want to know where it comes from.

Last time I checked business accounts attracted substantially higher
fees than personal accounts. Also as PayPal is a US-based non-banking
entity the paths for legal resolution should an issue arise are very
limited and expensive. It's just not a safe bet for many businesses.

-- 
Phillip Hutchings
http://www.sitharus.com/