092107: Skype to allow PayPal money transfers on 'Net phone service

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Skype to allow PayPal money transfers on 'Net phone service March 21, 2007 Updated 09:21:23 (Mla time) Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO--Skype said on Tuesday that users of its Internet telephone service will soon be able to transfer money to each other using PayPal. Skype and online financial transaction service PayPal, both owned by California-based Internet auction firm eBay, expected to formally announce the new service by the end of April. "We've been talking about the potential for integration between PayPal and Skype for some time now," eBay spokesman Hani Durzy told Agence France-Presse. "It should be unveiled in some form in a month." Skype was bought by eBay in October of 2004 and uses a peer-to-peer network to enable users to make free Internet telephone calls to each other through their computers. Skype calls "out" to standard or mobile telephones can be made at low rates. Skype reportedly ended 2006 with more than 150 million users. Skype users will need to have PayPal accounts to transfer money between each other with the online telephone service. It is common for people to use e-mail to transfer money between PayPal accounts, according to Durzy. "People send money via e-mail with PayPal; Skype will be another channel," Durzy said. "You'll be able to do it right from the Skype client without going to PayPal. The plan is to do it globally." Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström revealed the news while addressing a technology conference in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose, California.

 

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