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I fought the PayPal and I won

jessesingal.substack.com

21–30 of 349 posts

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#21

I haven't been using PayPal since more than 5 years. For quick transfers I can use Revolut. For buying something I can use card. For easy payment integration with Web apps there are countless tools. So I am wondering what use cases PayPal still serves, use cases which aren't already better covered by better means. Why pay heavy commissions to PayPal?

With virtual cards and whatnot I don't use PayPal anymore to protect the card number from circulation. But I still find them useful for long therm subscriptions to provider. That why when I need to change the card I don't need to login to (and remember) all websites where I have an ongoing payment plan

And cancelling subscriptions via PayPal is easy too.

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#22
> While PayPal is technically a private company that can work with basically whoever it wants for whatever reason, its centralized role as an online payment processor makes this a weirdly potent free speech fight.

> He did share correspondence with me where prominent free speech attorneys told him, in an apparent contradiction to my claims, that he had no viable legal recourse to getting his account reinstated.

Though somehow money is speech, the author never supports his claim how PayPal, which is not a government actor, can violate free speech. The First Amendment does not prohibit private individuals, companies and employers from restricting speech.

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#23

> While PayPal is technically a private company that can work with basically whoever it wants for whatever reason, its centralized role as an online payment processor makes this a weirdly potent free speech fight. > He did share correspondence with me where prominent free speech attorneys told him, in an apparent contradiction to my claims, that he had no viable legal recourse to getting his account reinstated. Thoug…

Oh not this old canard again.

The US constitutional guarantee of freedom from government interference in speech is just one aspect of the matter. If private companies own every method of articulating your views, and are preventing you from doing so, then you aren't free to speak.

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#24

I haven't been using PayPal since more than 5 years. For quick transfers I can use Revolut. For buying something I can use card. For easy payment integration with Web apps there are countless tools. So I am wondering what use cases PayPal still serves, use cases which aren't already better covered by better means. Why pay heavy commissions to PayPal?

Places not served by Revolut, small time sellers that don't have the capacity/infrastructure to process cards, etc.

I'm wondering wow difficult can it be to just set up Stripe in addition to PayPal. I've set one up without any legal entity at all, just as a plain old human being resident of Estonia, and it seems to just work for occasional payments. Should work in US, too.

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#25

> While PayPal is technically a private company that can work with basically whoever it wants for whatever reason, its centralized role as an online payment processor makes this a weirdly potent free speech fight. > He did share correspondence with me where prominent free speech attorneys told him, in an apparent contradiction to my claims, that he had no viable legal recourse to getting his account reinstated. Thoug…

Money is freely convertible to speech.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley_v._Valeo

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Places not served by Revolut, small time sellers that don't have the capacity/infrastructure to process cards, etc.

I'm wondering wow difficult can it be to just set up Stripe in addition to PayPal. I've set one up without any legal entity at all, just as a plain old human being resident of Estonia, and it seems to just work for occasional payments. Should work in US, too.

Try doing it in Thailand for example. There're plenty of countries where neither Stripe nor Revolut are present...

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#28
post #14

First off, congratulations! Second, I wish there was more followup from "My account got limited/blocked, and I need help." HN posts of that nature—assuming they reach the front page—typically get resolution in enough time that the person with the issue posts a followup, but I don't think that's the norm.

Sure, but not without blaming the victim first. There are countless threads where the victim is accused to be wrong.

It's possible they are wrong. Assuming they are a victim isn't right. Questions to establish that aren't accusations.

Re: I fought the PayPal and I won

#30

I haven't been using PayPal since more than 5 years. For quick transfers I can use Revolut. For buying something I can use card. For easy payment integration with Web apps there are countless tools. So I am wondering what use cases PayPal still serves, use cases which aren't already better covered by better means. Why pay heavy commissions to PayPal?

I like using it for subscriptions, because it lists them all in one place and gives me a hassle-free way to cancel each of them.
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