PayPal Introduces Open API

m2pc writes "PayPal has just announced the availability of their Open API under the 'PayPal X Program.' This enables developers to integrate PayPal payment processing services without forcing users to redirect to PayPal's website to enter payment information. This new initiative is designed to allow the company to better compete with the likes of Google and Amazon, which offer similar services. I wonder how much they paid for their domain: x.com?"

one-letter domain?

[Tolaris]

Since when are 1-letter second-level domains allowed? I thought it was limited to two letters and up.

Um...guys....

[Itninja]

I was doing this on an ecommerce site I administered like four years ago. It was called PayPal Payments Pro (or some such) and cost $20/month. No redirects at all. Other than the new domain, what's new? Is it free now?

Re:one-letter domain?

[Itninja]

One-letter names are allowed. But they were all taken within a very short time. I think about 26 seconds.

Re:Um...guys....

[jjohn24680]

PayProFlow is their credit card payment gateway, and handles other kinds of related transactions (debit cards, pre-funded cards). It appears this API ties to their main payment system (transfer funds between PayPal accounts) rather than credit cards. The company I work for uses their gateways to process transactions for both credit cards and also payments between PayPal accounts. Currently, if someone wants to receive a payment from us, they have to go to the PayPal website and create an account there. Once they have an account, we can use the existing API to transfer funds. From the article, it appears that you can use this API to create a new account, which is something that I don't believe can be done at this point.

Re:one-letter domain?

[Anonymous Coward]

x.com used to be an on-line bank. It was founded sometime around 2000. They were originally competition for PayPal: their tagline was basically, "you can e-mail money."

When they first started, if you opened an account with them, they actually gave you $20 for free and mailed you a debit card. The only problem with their system is that they didn't own any ATM's and you had to mail in deposits (or do direct deposit via ACH.) So it didn't last very long. They eventually got bought out by PayPal, and so now PayPal owns the x.com domain name and their businesses licenses, etc. I believe it was after the purchase that PP started offering debit cards, so I'm guessing they are doing so under x.com's state charter.

Re:Paypal was originally x.com

[loshwomp]

X.com was one of the companies that merged to form PayPal. They epitomized the bubble "land grab" mentality by giving away free money to attract customers.

I still have a check for $0.01 sent to me (for no obvious reason) by "PayPal's X.com" during the bubble days. It's such a perfect metaphor for the stupidity of that era that I just had to save it and frame it.