PayPal opens up to developers

PayPal may allow third parties to embed its payment service into applications

PayPal is planning to open up its online payment service to outside developers. The move could allow third parties to embed the company's payment service and collect fees for goods and online services rendered.

PayPal said that the service will launch on 3 November, and include a set of APIs which can be used to embed PayPal's service into applications.

During a special event at the company's headquarters in San Jose, PayPal president Scott Thompson said that the firm is hoping to open the door for e-commerce to new audiences such as web developers, and allow for different types of transactions, such as split payments and those requiring offline approval.

Thompson hopes that, by offering new payment options, PayPal will foster further growth in the e-commerce sector.

"The next wave of innovation won't happen at the level we have come to expect without viable business models," Thompson told developers. "Without this, innovation for innovation's sake will only come from a few, and things simply will just not move fast enough."

PayPal plans to offer early tests of the new system with a number of beta projects. Among the companies which will be offering trial programmes are Twitter and Microsoft's Azure project.

In the months following the initial launch on 3 November, PayPal said that it will look to add a number of additional APIs which extend the platform's reach and allow new types of transactions.