PayPal Expands Global Buyer Protection To Digital Goods

Around the same time PayPal splits from eBay later this year, the payment processing company will expand its global buyer protection on the one type of goods consumers can’t quite get their hands wrapped around.

Intangible goods.

In a recent PayPal blog post, the company’s Chief Risk Officer, Tomer Barel, shared the news about the expansion of the service, which will start July 1. For customers who pay for a service or digital product via PayPal, Barel explained how buyers will now have the peace of mind that their purchases are backed by Pay Pal’s guarantee. If the item was different than described, or an item never arrived (digitally), PayPal will “ensure that the money is credited back,” to the user’s account, Barel wrote.

“PayPal’s Global Buyer Protection has covered physical goods for many years, and our latest updates incorporate the feedback we’ve been receiving from [consumers], and underline PayPal’s reputation as the faster, safer way to pay online, on smartphones and in-store. As one of the leading ways to buy and sell digital goods and services around the world, we want to provide the same protection and peace of mind for digital goods that buyers have come to expect from our brand,” Barel wrote.

The updated goods covered in the expanded Global Buyer Protection program includes services, and digital goods, like digital music, digital books, digital games, travel tickets and software downloads.

“We see more and more intangible goods being purchased by our consumer base,” Barel said in an interview with Internet Retailer. “The segment is growing and becoming more significant.” PayPal reportedly said that the dollar value of digital goods purchased using PayPal is growing by about 20 percent a year.

Recently, PayPal updated its payments policy as it relates to the eBay split. PayPal’s policy on temporary payments holds and payments made to eBay is complex at the moment. PayPal revealed that it will treat payment authorizations made to eBay as canceled, meaning PayPal will not complete the payment. If PayPal decides that the claim would have been ruled in the favor of the individual that filed the claim, PayPal will re-file the claim with PayPal. All claims filed under eBay, however, will not be covered by PayPal’s Seller Protection Program.

Among other updates, PayPal said that it would no longer require compliance with both PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy as well as eBay’s own rules related to prohibited and restricted items as listed by eBay. Instead, PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy will be changed to specify restrictions on the use of PayPal for payments, which will include a ban on bribery, corruption and gambling.

These changes will also take effect July 1 of this year.