PayPal opening doors to outside developers

PayPal plans to throw open the doors of its software platform to enable outside developers to build innovative tools using the online financial transaction service.

"In just two weeks, PayPal will be the first global online payment service to open its platform to everyone," PayPal president Scott Thompson said Tuesday at a Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

"We hope and expect to unleash the power of digital money regardless of the currency and regardless of the platform in any country in the world."

The move should clear the way for new ways to make PayPal online transactions in televisions, touch-screen advertising, computers, mobile devices, and even "smart" appliances.

PayPal, owned by California-based online auction titan eBay, is already working with electronics makers, software firms, and software developers to make creative online transaction ideas reality, according to Thompson.

PayPal is following a hot Web 2.0 trend started by Facebook, which became a star after opening its software platform to allow outside developers to make fun, hip, or functional mini-applications for the social networking website.

"Innovation has moved from the hands of the few to the many," Thompson said. "The Internet is letting everyone in on the game."

(c) 2009 AFP