Google to Expand Into PayPal-like service?
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 2:41 am
Looks like it might happen soon.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc. plans to offer an electronic-payment service this year that could help the Internet-search company diversify its revenue and may heighten competition with eBay's PayPal unit, according to a recent newspaper report.
Details are not known, The Wall Street Journal said Friday, but the paper quoted people familiar with the matter as saying Google's payment service could have similarities with PayPal, which lets consumers to make purchases on Web sites through accounts that draw from credit cards or checking accounts.
A Google (up $2.86 to $280.30, Research) spokesperson contacted by Reuters declined comment.
For Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., a payment service could represent a significant expansion beyond online advertising, which generated 99 percent of its $3.2 billion in revenue last year, the Journal said. Online-payment providers typically take a commission on each transaction.