Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

allthingsd.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 43 posts

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#31

Post by podperson »

redog wrote: post #16
ams6110 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Discover and AMEX almost exclusively for cashback/rewards points.

I've used Discover for years and can't really think of a place that didn't take it. I just recently canceled it and have switched to AMEX which I have already found a half a dozen places that don't take it.

IIRC Costco takes Amex (and not Discover) and Sam's Club takes Discover (and not Amex). It's been a while since I have darkened the door of a Sam's Club, but at the time I thought that was a pretty big win for Costco...

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#32

Post by reitzensteinm »

derwiki wrote: post #28

Fry: Do you take Visa? Clerk: Visa hasn't existed for 500 years. Fry: American Express? Clerk: 600 years. Fry: Discover Card? Clerk: Sorry, we don't take Discover.

Come on, if you're going to post a joke here, at least do a quick check to see nobody else has posted the exact same text.

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#33

Post by hwestbrook »

paulsutter wrote: post #9

Starbucks using pay-by-name will be a breakthrough, assuming that's where the Square partnership is going. Since Starbucks is already asking for your name when you order coffee, it could turn into a great customer experience that would build broad momentum for pay-by-name. Is this PayPal agreement just adding a new and more complicated option to the existing terminal base? Will retail clerks even know what it is, and…

this is my first reaction too. I don't see how this makes it easier for the consumer. I don't especially want to type my user name and password into one of those terminals.

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#34

Post by betterth »

dedward wrote: post #14
sp332 wrote: post #2

But PayPal still refuses to be regulated like a bank, right? And how long will it be before "PayPal is holding my funds" stories go mainstream?

It's not like banks get a choice - more like lawmakers have yet to force paypal into regulation.

"It's not like banks get a choice"

Right you might want to go watch Jamie Dimon's testimony to the Senate Banking Committee two months ago.

It's fair to say that the senators in control of that Committee absolutely ingratiated themselves to the JP Morgan Chase CEO, falling over each other with offers of "improving regulation" and questions of "how can we make things better for your company".

I think it's absolutely fair to say that in this business-is-a-god-capable-of-no-wrong idea some subscribe to in Washington absolutely leads to banks effectively having an enormous amount of choice and control in the regulation process.

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#35

Post by s_henry_paulson »

jrajav wrote: post #27
s_henry_paulson wrote: post #7

As with many new technology advances in the finance sector, I predict this to be use for crime. Right now it's easy for criminals to get money into paypal accounts, but difficult to get money in their hands, because it often requires steps that involve tying a transaction to a bank account or something traceable. If someone can just walk into a store and type a couple of numbers into a keypad and walk out with items…

I'm assuming that the number tied to your account would be verified, in which case that becomes the new traceable tie between you and the account. If it's not verified, I certainly agree.

Phone numbers are not traceable. Google voice, etc.

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#36

Post by rictic »

dangrossman wrote: post #23
sp332 wrote: post #2

But PayPal still refuses to be regulated like a bank, right? And how long will it be before "PayPal is holding my funds" stories go mainstream?

This is a silly complaint. You can't choose how to be regulated. I can't volunteer to have my software business regulated as a sewage treatment plant, or as a stock brokerage. PayPal isn't a bank so laws that regulate banks don't apply to them any more than they apply to Amazon Payments, Google Checkout or Stripe. However, the laws on money transfer organizations apply to them in all 50 states.

I believe the charge is that they've done or avoided doing some very specific and otherwise natural things to avoid falling under banking regulation.

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#37

Post by CountHackulus »

paulsutter wrote: post #9

Starbucks using pay-by-name will be a breakthrough, assuming that's where the Square partnership is going. Since Starbucks is already asking for your name when you order coffee, it could turn into a great customer experience that would build broad momentum for pay-by-name. Is this PayPal agreement just adding a new and more complicated option to the existing terminal base? Will retail clerks even know what it is, and…

Pay by name would be terrible for me, I have a very French name, and no Starbucks barista around here speaks enough French which means I have to spend quite a while spelling out my name for them. I've taken to just telling them my name is "G".

Now pay by NFC...

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#38

Post by camiller »

smallegan wrote: post #29

Square is a way for businesses to accept credit cards. Paypal is a "bank" that offers a type of credit card. I fail to see how they are really competitors. Square takes Discover so the way I see this is Square just got the ability to accept Paypal?

Square is also a way to make payments https://squareup.com/pay-with-square

Which I think makes it more of a competitor to Google wallet. However I think it only works with merchants that use square to accept payments so...

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#39

Post by bjustin »

If the stereotypes about Starbucks customers being hipster technologists* are true, then Square is still ahead of PayPal here. The crucial difference between the Square deal and the PayPal deal is that the people who go to Starbucks are more likely to adopt a new technology than your average Walmart shopper.

* I imagine this is not accurate, but it is the sense I've gotten from online jokes about Starbucks. Either way an average Starbucks customer is likely better off than an average Walmart shopper, just based on how necessary Starbucks vs. Walmart is in terms of goods sold.

Re: PayPal Trumps Square’s Deal With Starbucks by Partnering With Discover

#40

Post by paulsutter »

hwestbrook wrote: post #33
paulsutter wrote: post #9

Starbucks using pay-by-name will be a breakthrough, assuming that's where the Square partnership is going. Since Starbucks is already asking for your name when you order coffee, it could turn into a great customer experience that would build broad momentum for pay-by-name. Is this PayPal agreement just adding a new and more complicated option to the existing terminal base? Will retail clerks even know what it is, and…

this is my first reaction too. I don't see how this makes it easier for the consumer. I don't especially want to type my user name and password into one of those terminals.

Pay by name uses the GPS in your phone so that when you walk into Starbucks, your face and name appear on the cash register. Walk into a Starbucks in a distant city:

Customer: "cappucino please"

employee: "Paul, right?"

customer: "yes"

employee: "decaf and skim, as usual?"

customer: "yes, thanks"

employee: "ok, you've paid by square"

The partnership didn't mention pay by name, but I can't imagine the partnership is really meaningful without it. This could spur widespread adoption of pay by name. When people start doing this at Starbucks, it will quickly seem like a normal way to pay, and using a card may start to seem clunky.

I guarantee that typing in a PayPal account number is hella clunky, and NFC little better. Do I reall want to unlock my phone to buy coffee?

Post reply on HN