As the company that has led the pack in the digital payments arena since the late 90s, it’s only natural that they’d bite back against newcomers trying to disrupt their business, such as Square, which is generating buzz that far outweighs the company’s reach. And PayPal‘s Director of Global Communications, Anuj Nayar, has done exactly that.
In an interview with Fast Company, Nayar is quoted saying “Existing models don’t go away until they are replaced by models that work better. I think people are getting held up in the technical possibilities, and are forgetting that at the end of the day, the consumers have to choose to use it. Unless they can see advantage in doing this versus the existing way of paying, I ask the question: Why would they? The consumer needs to see the benefit beyond, ‘This is just cool.'”
Nayar goes on to say that there’s nothing inherently easier about making a payment via your phone over swiping a credit card — particularly without NFC involved.
There’s also a vague reference in the interview to a system that PayPal is developing that will purportedly be better than, and yet be nothing like, Square.
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Nayar does make a compelling argument, but with Square garnering such strong support through the US and preparing to go to war with the giant, one has to ask: is this a case of sour grapes, a public relations move to fight back against the groundswell of support for Square, or is it a valid criticism?
Read the full article at Fast Company for more details.
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