This is a story we've kind of been expecting to bring you since the day eBay bought PayPal. The company is thinking of requiring members to use PayPal to complete transactions -- in Australia anyway.
Right now you can arrange payments by check, money order, PayPal, or other methods. But next month eBay will change that policy and require Australian shoppers to pay via PayPal. And that's prompted antitrust complaints from Australian banks, which arrange money transfers for eBay auctions. Some sellers also complain that PayPal fees are higher than bank transfer fees, which means the new rule could cost them money.
Honestly, we don't know many people who use eBay and don't use PayPal. It's easy and convenient. And eBay claims it does a better job of preventing fraud than other payment services. But let's not forget that eBay gets a cut every time you pay with PayPal. And that's on top of the commission eBay already takes for items sold on the site. The company claims any additional income will be offset by increased investment in buyer protection measures.
There are currently no plans to go PayPal-only in the US and other markets. But eBay could be using Australia as a test case before expanding the policy. Australian regulators haven't yet issued a final ruling on the antitrust implications of the policy.
