The end of PayPal.com & The Rise of Obopay.com

Okay so I’m exaggerating. Paypal.com isn’t doomed. Love them or hate them, Paypal.com is here to stay. Depending on what side of the fence you’re own you swear by Paypal.com or you hate them. I know when I first got started my online business, I was looking for ways to accept credit card payments. My first venture in the online space was a no fee New York City apartment finding service. I  would research listings for people out of state and find them New York City apartments that required no broker fees. It was a great idea in the late 90’s. So people would mail me checks or money orders. As my business grew I decided that being able to process credit cards would get more business and be more convenient for my users.

So what did most of us do back in the late 90’s? That’s right go to your local bank to establish a merchant account. My local bank was Chase. I figured I’ve been a customer for years and do all my banking with them that it would be very easy to get a merchant account. Well that was far from the truth. When I explained my business they looked at me as if my skin was turned inside out. (I know it’s a disgusting  visual. But hey that’s the look I got.) I was asked a million and one questions. After a while I just had to stop them and I’m like "I want to give you money and business, why are we going through all these questions? I’m a long standing customer." Needless to say that went no where.

Fortunately I was able to find authorizenet.com and another bank offered me a merchant account that really understood the importance of the web at that time. To Chase’s defense, internet businesses were fairly new and I could understand their concerns in hindsight. We have since made peace and I have tons of other accounts with them.

But even with the merchant account, I soon realized how fast those minor fees added up. And then the manual processing was also a pain. And then there was a light at the end of the tunnel and it was Paypal.com. Boy were they heaven sent. They really made processing payments  a snap. The whole idea of being able to send payments via email was genius! Their fees were better and the interface made everything run on autopilot.

However their customer service sucked! (This was prior to Ebay’s acquisition of the company. Customer service has improved greatly.) And then there was stories of people’s accounts being closed or frozen without any just cause. I’ve heard of people loosing thousands. Don’t believe me check out www.paypalsucks.com/ Fortunately that never happened to me. (Did I mention, how much I love you Paypal.) But other companies have tried to "bite paypal’s style" but many have failed or just don’t have the usership. Even Google is making a play at paypal. Time will tell how that works out.

Well there is a new player: Obopay.com! I really have a lot of hope for this company. Their concept is very similar to paypal.com but in my opinion a lot better. I’ve always thought to myself, how cool would it be to pay for something via your cellphone. Afterall it is something that we all carry around with us and feel naked without. Well Obopay.com felt the same way!

How Obopay works.

Use any mobile phone to get, send, or spend money. Text message, use your phone’s Internet browser, or download Obopay onto your phone.

So let’s say you want to send your friend some money for the dinner he paid for but don’t have the cash on you. Just pull out your cellphone and text message him. They’ll receive the text and be prompted to open a free Obopay account where they can collect their money.

Eventually you’ll be able to pay for things at stores with Obopay. Obopay can pretty much be used how paypal.com can be used but their are some differences.

How is Obopay better than Paypal?

• Lower fees! It only cost $.10 cents to send $5 or $500 it doesn’t matter! (Watch out now Paypal!)
• They’re partnered with Citibank
• They’re giving away free money!

Well the last point is the reason they’re on my blog which is about making money and avoiding scams. As a promotion you’re getting $5 to sign up for a free account and they’re paying you $5 per friend or person you refer and there are no limits to the referrals people!  Even if you don’t refer a soul which I highly doubt, why not just sign up for free and get $5. That’s easy money people.

So that’s the main reason why I’ve decided to mention Obopay.com on this site. But I do also believe the idea is really cool and their fees can’t be beat if you have a website or business that collect money. I’m not sure if they’ll beat paypal.com but I’m sure they’ll give them a run for their money.

Visit Obopay now, sign up for a free account and get paid $5!