Introduction
Background
Nowadays, the Internet creates numerous opportunities for people, who decide to purchase or sell goods and services or develop a new business online. It does not take much time to surf the web, choose a product or service, and make a purchase. People enjoy the existing variety of options and their personal freedoms. At the same time, they want to make sure that their business development meets the standards and lead to profits and incomes.
Business velocity is the factor that contributes to the growth of business considerably (Cohn, 2015, par. 1). However, it is necessary to understand that online operations have a number of peculiarities and obligations, and one of them is the necessity to choose a proper payment method (Reed & Walden, 2013, p. 201).
Online, mobile, and electronic payment systems vary considerably and have to meet the requirements of business developers in a no-matter-what industry (Cohn, 2015, par. 1). Besides, it is expected that humanity and the creation of cognitive systems online could augment human decisions and promote opportunities for a successful business (Wang, 2015, p. 151).
Situation
The development of a new business is the opportunity to create an idea and promote it in the most appropriate way. People have to take into consideration a number of issues such as the choice of a platform, the conditions under which the cooperation with customers is possible, organizational culture, and the goals that have to be achieved. Online businesses are based on the relations developed by online communities that could be located in different geographical places (Morabito, 2014, p. 126).
Online payments are the activities that have to be established in such communities in order to make sure that employees could get their salaries, customers could make payments, and managers could organize the required portion of financial operations. It is very important for a company to choose a payment method online and make sure the choice has enough grounds and explanations.
Importance of Choice
Today, online users have access to a variety of online payment systems (Reed & Walden, 2013, p. 201). It is hard to make the right choice in a short period of time. Therefore, analytical reports and comparisons should be promoted. In this report, the peculiar features of two online payment systems, PayPal and Bitcoin, will be compared and explained in terms of security, customer satisfaction, popularity, pricing policies, and technological issues in order to clarify which system is best for the development of new business online.
This report will be divided into several sections so that the discussion of the platforms and features of PayPal and Bitcoin could help to create a solid basis for these companies’ comparison and recommendations for online business developers.
Paypal
History
PayPal is a famous American company that aims at operating an online payment system and money transfers around the whole world. It was founded in 1998 and became a significant part of the digital payments revolution (PayPal about Who we are, n.d., para. 1). Nowadays, it is available for the citizens of more than 202 countries who could make their payments in more than 100 currencies (PayPal about Who we are, n.d., para. 2). One of the main beliefs of the company is the pride that their customers could be provided with more control of their money and the opportunities to participate in the global economy fully (PayPal about: Responsible practices, n.d., para. 1).
Platforms
PayPal operates an open and secure payment platform on the basis of which businesses could transact with customers online via mobile devices and other technological tools available at stores (PayPal about Who we are, n.d., para. 1). In 2015, PayPal informed about the intentions to open a new mobile P2P (peer-to-peer) platform with the help of which peers could use the link and send fast transfers with ease (Toplin & Heggestuen, 2015, par. 1).
Another well-known platform used by the company is PayPal’s Braintree payments platform that promotes security capabilities and avoidance of frictions. Besides, PayPal aims at modernizing its IT infrastructure to change the existing platform and introduce a new service-oriented architecture and development on the basis of API (application programming interface) and SDK (software development kit) (Claburn, 2015, par. 6).
Services
In addition to the fact that PayPal helps customers to send, receive, and control their money in various currencies, a number of additional services and opportunities should be listed (PayPal about Who we are, n.d., par. 2):
- Financial transactions that are possible between more than 202 countries;
- Student accounts within the frames of which students could use their debit cards and control their money;
- Fundraising and online donations are supported by the company;
- Debit and credit cards are offered to customers,
- The possibilities to create different accounts for different purposes (Premier, Business, Student).
Features
PayPal is a very competitive company worldwide. It is one of the first banking networks in the list used by business development and ordinary clients who want to gain control over their financial operations. The main features of the chosen online payment system are (PayPal about: Who we are, n.d., par. 2):
- 25 currencies;
- Encryption that keeps all transactions guarded;
- 24/7 monitoring;
- Credit cards’ acceptance;
- Online invoicing;
- Global payments;
- Free joint, and
- Clear fee system.
Usage
A number of online companies worldwide use the PayPal payments system in order to promote their financial operations and cooperate with people from different countries (PayPal about: Who we are, n.d., par. 1). The best examples of the companies are Amazon, Overstock, and Facebook. Though the Internet provides much information about poor examples of PayPal cooperation with different companies, the fact that this company is chosen by such online giants cannot be neglected. The companies find PayPal as an appropriate payment method because potential customers do not face many difficulties to create an account, keep it for free, and use it any time required.
Bitcoin
History
Bitcoin is a new network that promotes the development of a payment system online and the control of digital money from different parts of the world (Bitcoin: Frequently asked questions, n.d. par. 1). The system was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 (Bitcoin: Frequently asked questions, n.d. par. 2). Still, the founder left the company in 2010 and did not leave much personal or technological information so that the company was improved and developed by the current workers of Bitcoin. The popularity of the organization and its current success could be used as the main evidence of corporate culture and the loyalty of its employees.
Platform
Bitcoin is famous due to its P2P platform and the ability to fast transactions. For a certain period of time (from 2011 to 2013), the site was used in order to release new versions of the software that is known as Bitcoin Core (About bitcoin.org, n.d. par. 2). After 2013, the site was redesigned with a number of pages and additional software available to the company’s clients. Today, the site of the company is an independent project with a number of co-owners. Still, a number of discussions and investigations occur to prove if Bitcoin should be defined as a platform or as the currency (Duivestein & Savalle, 2014, par. 1).
Services
The services offered by Bitcoin include the necessity to inform customers about the protection importance, provide clear explanations of the company’s properties and limitations, invite experts to develop Bitcoin at different levels, and improve its accessibility (About bitcoin.org, n.d. par. 6). Clients of Bitcoin get such opportunities as:
- Mobile payments;
- Control over money;
- International payments,
- Cooperation of people worldwide.
Bitcoin is also known as the first cryptocurrency that could be used by people regardless of their geographical locations or income levels. Its market value is impressive indeed because of people’s intentions to create their business under new conditions.
Features
The features of the company include a list of positive aspects of the work with Bitcoin. The main advantages of the company are as follows (Bitcoin: Frequently asked questions, n.d. par. 11):
- Payment freedoms;
- Abilities to choose fees;
- A low level of risks for merchants;
- Security and control,
- Transparency.
The reason why many people want to choose Bitcoin among other payment methods is the possibility to enjoy personal freedoms and destroy all possible boundaries and bureaucratic cases when customers have to stay dependent on the activities of other people (About bitcoin.org, n.d. par. 5). Bitcoin customers are free to control their money and choose the transactions which are more convenient and beneficial for people in regards to their personal situations.
Usage
Nowadays, there are many companies that decide to accept Bitcoin as their main payment method. Overstock is the company that chooses PayPal for its payment method. Still, this company does not stop on using one system. Therefore, Overstock could be mentioned as the company that uses Bitcoin in order to sell its tickets at lower prices because of the existing overstocking. Microsoft is another company that could be used as an example of how to use Bitcoin.
This company offers its customers to buy content with the help of Bitcoin services and consider their Xbox and Windows options. Finally, Tesla could be mentioned in the list of users (Tomasicchio, 2016, par. 2). This organization is focused on car selling. Tesla’s customers and partners could use Bitcoin as the way to pay for the services and establish a new system of payment.
Comparison
In the table below, it is possible to find a brief comparison of two online payment systems, PayPal and Bitcoin, and clarify the company’s positive and negative features in order to make the final choice.
Table One: Paypal and Bitcoin Comparison.
| PayPal | Bitcoin |
| Pros:Brand name;Reputation for more than 10 years (PayPal about: Who we are, n.d., par. 1);Easy setup;Customer awareness of the company;No necessity to create PayPal accounts to transit money to another PayPal account, andIntegration with different shopping cards systems. | Pros:The introduction of a new currency;Private network;No government affiliation;Identity protection (Bitcoin: Frequently asked questions, n.d. par. 15);Low or no costs for international payments;Innovations and new approaches to business development;Simple structure and affordability; |
| Cons:Poor security protection;Existing high fees for charge-backs;Poor work of customer service department;No anonymity because of the possible connection to bank accounts (PayPal about: Who we are, n.d., par. 1), andInabilities to deal with competitions that are based on innovations. | Cons:Irreversible transactions;The necessity to exchange any currency into Bitcoin currency;Time to study how to convert money and compare the change;Volatility (Bitcoin: Frequently asked questions, n.d. par. 17). |
Recommendations
In fact, taking into consideration the evaluation of two famous online payment systems and the analysis of their pros and cons, it is hard to understand which company could bring more benefits to the developers of new business online. The presence of positive and negative aspects of the work of two companies may confuse potential customers and provide regular customers with new opportunities. At the same time, the differences and similarities of the systems prove that both of them are powerful and effective indeed. The existing discussions and comparisons help to clarify the reasons for people’s choices, and the idea that PayPal should think about the idea of warming up to Bitcoin is one of the best alternatives for many people (Mac, 2014, par. 1).
However, the task of this analysis report is to investigate the services, features, and platforms of two different companies and clarify what system could be more effective for business developers. Regarding such facts that PayPal’s brand and reputation could say a lot about the company (PayPal about: Who we are, n.d., par. 1), PayPal services have been already offered to the citizens in more than 200 countries, and not much time is required to create an account and use it with ease, PayPal could win the battle.
However, such a choice is appropriate for those people, who think about starting a new business and promoting new services to people. In case the company has already achieved success and recognition, the idea to use Bitcoin seems to be more effective in comparison with the opportunities offered by PayPal because of a chance to try a new currency system and promote anonymity and protection.
Conclusion
In general, online payment systems undergo considerable changes and improvements during the last several years. There are many companies that try to offer their services and prove the urgency of their ideas. At the same time, the existing competition in the sphere of online business makes companies think about their future and develop the approaches that could attract people’s attention. PayPal and Bitcoin are two powerful online payment systems.
Their developers have made contributions to online business and show opportunities for people from different parts of the world. Regarding the current recommendations, PayPal is defined as a good opportunity for those who start their business and want to make payments under safe and clear conditions that are used by the company. Financial operations are important in all organizations, and PayPal is the leader in providing people with the services to succeed in such types of operations.
