eBay is looking to switch payments partners as the end of its operating agreement with PayPal approaches and the company has now signed a new agreement with payments processor Ayden. That’s according to an official announcement made via the company’s official blog on January 31. By switching partners, eBay will be able to take complete control of the payments process for its online auction-based marketplace. The company says that will offer new benefits to customers and sellers, as well as simplifying payments. Fortunately, there’s no need to panic yet, for users who primarily depend on PayPal as a means to securely shop online. Despite that the agreement between PayPal and eBay will officially end in 2020, a further agreement will keep the former as a payment option through 2023. The transition to eBay’s Ayden-backed intermediation platform will be rolled out beginning in the second half of this year, and continue expanding yearly. By 2021, the company plans to have nearly all of its customers to the new platform.
Meanwhile, eBay says the new system will bring several benefits to both sellers and buyers taking part in its marketplace. For those who use eBay as a place to make purchases, the Ayden platform will provide a much wider variety of payment options. Meanwhile, eBay plans to streamline the checkout process since its control of the process will allow it to be integrated more thoroughly into the website itself. The system will also be improved for those who sell items through eBay, according to the announcement. First, payment processing costs will be significantly reduced once they move from PayPal to eBay’s own platform. Moreover, the pricing structure will be simplified, in addition to eBay offering a brand new easy-to-use platform to centralize the management of a given seller’s business on the site. Finally, the company says that by increasing the number of available payment options, sellers will be able to attract more customers who may not have been able to purchase items on its marketplace.
Thankfully, the transition will also not require too much effort on the part of either sellers or buyers since it won’t require any major adjustments to accounts or any new accounts. The company also says it won’t change the overall interface of the site or application in any immediately noticeable way. So, while this change may come as a blow to those who prefer to use PayPal as a payment method for online shopping, it shouldn’t be too disruptive. It may even help to better secure the company’s place in the industry.