Exec: PayPal China Operation Needs Official Approval

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An executive for eBay's (EBAY) PayPal said Thursday that the payments unit of the online auction pioneer is still waiting for an official license to offer online payment services in China's domestic market.

Alan Tien, PayPal's general manager for China, was quoted by state-run China Daily?as saying the company had filed an application with China's central bank last year and still hasn't heard back.

If the approval is given, PayPal's local operation will compete directly against Alipay.com, the payment arm of Chinese Internet tycoon Jack Ma's Alibaba Group. Alipay is China's dominant online payments service.

PayPal's Chinese unit currently makes most of its money by offering payment services for local companies that export overseas by filling orders through online websites.

Tien told China Daily that PayPal's total payment volume in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan reached $4.4 billion in 2010. He says the local unit is enjoying double-digit growth rates, which he expects to continue.

PayPal's efforts to enter China parallels its concerted push in the U.S. and worldwide to offer payments services to online and offline businesses. It's not alone, with the likes of Google (GOOG) and possibly Apple (AAPL) also getting into this field, as we've noted.

In late August, Pay Pal teamed with Discover Financial Services (DFS) to allow shoppers to use their PayPal accounts at some 7 million merchant locations across the U.S. and potentially millions of global merchant locations in the future. It's also signed deals with Home Depot (HD) and other large retailers that lets customers use their PayPal accounts at store checkouts.

In July, PayPal acquired card.io, a U.S. firm that provides technology for app developers to capture credit card information by using the camera on a smartphone.

RELATED: PayPal, Discover Financial In Electronic Pay Pact

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InternetTechnologyRss/~3/6JWAirdTJPE/paypal-awaits-approval-to-operate-in-china.htm

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