Microsoft To Set Up Online Payment System

Miscellaneous Off-Topic/General Chat
#1

[URL=“http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200701271224DOWJONESDJONLINE000323_FORTUNE5.htm?section=money_topstories”]http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200701271224DOWJONESDJONLINE000323_FORTUNE5.htm?section=money_topstories[/URL]


[quote]DAVOS: Microsoft To Set Up Online Payment System

January 27, 2007: 12:24 PM EST



DAVOS, Switzerland -(Dow Jones)- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is developing on an online payment system that will be cheaper than credit card transactions, making it possible for companies to charge small fees for Web-based content and services they now offer for free.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told a breakfast meeting here at the World Economic Forum that he reviewed a plan to enter the online payments business during his “think week,” a twice-yearly ritual where he usually isolates himself in a backwoods cabin to study new ideas. Over the years, these sessions have propelled products such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s Tablet PC and an online videogame business.

Microsoft’s move into Internet payments could threaten credit card companies’ online profits. Gates described a system that would undercut credit card fees, making it profitable for an online newspaper to charge small fees for individual articles, for example.

“If you want to charge somebody $0.10 or $1 a month, that will just be a click…you won’t have to manage some funny thing or pay some big credit charge, where half of it goes to the clearing,” Gates said.

-By Adam Cohen, Dow Jones Newswires; +322 741 1486; adam.cohen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-27-07 1224ET

Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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#2

That really would make my day…



I sell mp3 downloads for unsigned bands, at the moment I have to charge IRO £1 per download, 50% of which goes directly to the artist and from the other 50% I have to pay paypal fees before I can even start thinking about profit.



Because these bands are unsigned and not very well known people sometimes grudge paying the same as a ‘commercial’ track. I would like to be able to offer these tracks at half this price, or even less but it’s just not possible at the moment.



What I was thinking of doing is creating a ‘micropayments’ type module where customers can pay into their account, say values of £5 or more and then if an order is below say £1 they can only use micropayments, if it’s above £1 they can use any of the payment processors avaliable. Either that or add a surcharge for anything under £1, but that just makes it more expensive again.



Roll on Microsoft payment I say!



Thanks for the info ET, I’ll be keeping my eye on this, even though I expect it to be a long time yet.



Simon