PayPal penalised for 'deceptive' practices

It works by them having $90m in VC funding from people like Richard Branson and Peter Thiel which they then use to subsidise the super cheap transfers with the aim of growing big.

O.K. I'm not a huge fan of PayPal. My biggest gripe is they just got big and stupid. (Holding funds for weeks until a customer gives positive feedback on ebay? I have had mixed results on customer service.)

That said, what product are you selling that you require a picture of the customer? I see this trend popping up and don't like it.

While I have had problems with PayPal practices-- PayPal employees who don't care, etc., when I have given PayPal a receipt from UPS, or Fedex that proves the package was delivered, I did not have a problem with a dispute. (I don't trust usps when I have a gut feeling a customer will file a dispute.)

So what are you selling? I would never ask a customer for a picture ID. Maybe it's just my generation(grew up in the 70's--80's, but I see this trend of mandatory photo ID popping up lately; and don't think it's the right road to go down. Map the IP--fine. Have a gut feeling the customer won't pay ask for cash(leave it up to the customer on delivery of the cash--wire transfer?). I would not ask for their ID, unless I strongly expected fraud.

If I have to give some company, besides a bank my picture; I don't shop there. Asking for anyone picture is beyond rude these days, along with any Photographer taking my picture without my consent. This whole people picture taking thing is done, because of the Internet, and image databases like Google, and have Bing have developed. I see stores putting up "Happy" employee pictures, and it is just rude, an invasion of privacy, and should be abolished? (I have a friend at Costco who is mortified the company wouldn't take down his picture of him doing his job. It was one of those customer appreciation pictures.) Oh yea, you don't need a Costco card to use the pharmacy.

I looked into buying stoptakingmypicture.whatever and the com is taken. I'm not sure I want to take on another cause; especially because most of you don't seem to care who snaps, asks, or posts your picture? I go on FB, and no one seems to care?

Yes--I understand the need for ID at DMV, Airport, and passports, etc.)

To any store, or company(Home Depot comes to mind) some of us are really tired of the proliferation of cameras, and don't go to your establishment like we used to.

(Plus--most identity thiefs I have run across(just one so far), sent me a perfect scan of her Drivers license without my asking. I didn't place the order, and never heard back. It is so easy to fake an ID these days. I would be suspicious if any customer sent their ID, even if I asked for it.)

> have to share the profit with the UK Gov.

Actually not the UK govt. The fine was levied by the CFPB:

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector."

This has been a long time coming in my opinion, but $25m is nothing for Paypal. I have had my fair share of troubles over the years, but none worse than the time I got paid for doing some freelance work into my Paypal account, I ended up with a balance of around $8k and it took me 3 months to get it released. I went through their ID process, sent them stuff and would wait a week only to be told to send it again.

The problem with Paypal is they are too big to care. They've essentially become a bank, nobody knows what is going on, you get passed on from department to department when you need answers and they are always quick to freeze your Paypal balance when they want you to do something or want to insinuate you have done something wrong.

I would have slapped them with a $100m penalty, $25m is just too little to make any kind of impact or different to Paypal.

Transferwise when I just looked only charge 1% off interbank for USD to INR. Maybe use Stripe (2.9% + 30¢) for USD and then that?