贝宝有望成为数字钱包霸主

    自从互联网发展成为一个商业平台以来，一些公司就一直在梦想着打造一种电子货币，它最大限度的实现了无缝连接，成为人们下意识的支付工具，而不必再使用现钞、硬币，不用填写支票，也不用再输入、存储信用卡号码。随着云计算的崛起和智能手机的普及，这种设想正在成为现实。

    因此，致力于研发所谓数字钱包的公司队伍日益壮大：不管是后起之秀（比如Square公司），易趣（eBay）、谷歌（Google）和苹果（Apple）这类大牌公司，还是诸如Visa和万事达（MasterCard）这样的金融服务业巨头，它们都期盼着能够在这个或许不出几年就将变成一个利润丰厚的市场上扮演重要的角色。

    但是，贝宝公司（PayPal）为这个目标奋斗的时间比谁都长。那时，人们还很少说起云计算，大家津津乐道的是网格计算；那时的手机块头还很大，没办法轻轻松松地放进口袋。而就在那个时候，贝宝公司就已经开始着手为一个全球性的电子支付系统奠定基础——设法克服数百个国家的监管程序，努力应对各种形式的网上欺诈，及时回应用户的种种投诉。

    如今，贝宝公司与900万户商家建立了合作关系，并且拥有1.06亿活跃用户。过去几年中，这家隶属于易趣的公司一直在不动声色地筹划一项战略，旨在为这些用户（以及更多的潜在用户）创造一款数字钱包。但这就意味着要提供优于竞争对手的服务，其中一部分竞争对手拥有庞大的用户群体和充沛的资金储备。

    这同时也意味着要像押宝一样，揣测消费者和商家到底愿意接受哪一种数字钱包标准。Square式加密狗是否会成为零售业的日常配件？近近场无线通讯技术（NFC）是否能打消人们的安全顾虑，成为一种常态？信用卡和借记卡账户是否将继续发挥核心作用？最重要的是，究竟哪个品牌将最终将脱颖而出，成为消费者最信赖的移动支付界面？

    贝宝的战略正慢慢地变得清晰起来。收购了BillMeLater、购物搜索引擎Milo和应用程序开发商WHERE和Redlaser等初创企业之后，贝宝已经开始推出若干新功能——最新推出的功能是PayPal Here服务。业界普遍认为，这项于上周正式推出的服务将成为Square公司强有力的竞争者。Square的成名作就是可插入智能手机、用以在商店和餐厅现场支付的加密狗。

    Square正在赢得许多零售商的青睐。贝宝公司表示，它在2011年完成的移动支付款项高达40亿美元，今年预期将突破70亿美元。但Square公司的表现也毫不逊色：该公司在去年处理了总计40亿美元的移动支付款项，主要源自往往被贝宝公司忽略的小型实体零售商。

    两家公司正在迅速地推出比加密狗更为先进的移动支付服务。Square推出了一款名为Card Case的iPhone应用程序——用户向Square的零售客户支付款项时，这款应用可以帮助他们省去刷信用卡的麻烦。PayPal Here也可以让用户在签约零售商哪里实现无线支付。通过与Card.io公司合作，PayPal Here还能够给信用卡拍张照片，而无需使用加密狗。

    As long as the Internet has been a venue for commerce, some companies have dreamed of making electronic cash as seamless and intuitive to use as possible: no cash or coins, no check-writing, no typing in or storing credit card numbers. Thanks to the rise of the cloud and the popularity of smarphones, that idea is becoming real.

    As a result, the names of companies working to create a so-called digital wallet is growing: startups like Square, big-name companies like eBay (EBAY), Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) or financial services giants like Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) – each hoping for a key role in what could in coming years become a lucrative market.

    No company has been working longer at this goal than PayPal. Back when people spoke less of the cloud and more about grid computing, and when mobile phones were too big to fit comfortably inside a pocket, PayPal was laying the foundation for a global e-payment system – working through regulatory processes in hundreds of countries, grappling with myriad forms of online fraud and fielding customer complaints.

    Today, PayPal works with 9 million merchants and 106 million active customers. And over the past couple of years, the eBay (EBAY) unit has been quietly assembling a strategy to create a digital wallet for those customers, and potentially many more. But it means improving on offerings from competitors, some of which have large customer bases and ample cash reserves.

    It also means placing bets on which standards consumers and merchants will embrace. Will Square-like dongles become an everyday accessory in retail? Or will near-field communications overcome security concerns and become the norm? Will credit- and debit- accounts continue to play a central role? And most importantly, which brands will emerge as the most trusted consumer interface to mobile payments?

    Slowly, PayPal's strategy is becoming clearer. After buying startups such as BillMeLater, shopping-engine Milo and app developers WHERE and Redlaser, PayPal has begun rolling out new features – most recently its PayPal Here service. Announced last week, PayPal Here was widely seen as a competitor of Square, the startup noted for the dongle that plugs into smartphones for on-the-spot payments in stores and restaurants.

    Square is catching on with many retailers. PayPal says it saw $4 billion in mobile payments in 2011 and that it expects to top $7 billion this year. But Square also says it processed $4 billion in payments last year, largely from small brick-and-mortar retailers that PayPal has tended to overlook.

    Both companies are quickly moving beyond the simple dongle. Square offers Card Case, an iPhone app that lets people pay Square's retail clients without swiping a plastic card. PayPal Here also allows wireless payments with participating retailers. Through a partnership with Card.io, PayPal Here can also take a photo of a credit card instead of using a dongle.