ABSTRACT
PayPal is an exemplar for a new class of intermediaries in electronic commerce. It offers a free subscription to individuals looking for a payment system with simple tools, an e-mail account, and a browser, that is, no special software. Thus, it combines electronic messaging with existing payment mechanisms so that users do not have to learn new ways. With PayPal, any person connected to the Internet can transfer money to anyone with an e-mail address. PayPal also popularized some of the means for fighting online credit card fraud. However, despite the founders’ dream of overhauling the world’s currency markets and of liberating people from corrupt governments (Jackson, 2006, pp. 19–21, 173–174), PayPal remains a wrapper service, from a payment viewpoint, because it does not introduce a new currency nor a new core payment system (Ali et al., 2014a). Nevertheless, it is pursuing its goal to move from every digital device to every online merchant and becoming the “Switzerland of online payment systems” ( Economist, 2015d).
