I’ve never really had much use for PayPal, although I profess I had an account while living in London (technically I still do). The account was created to recharge my Skype limit, but now that I don’t live there, I haven't bothered logging into my account since - and I’m finding it almost impossible to close my account (although that’s not the nature of this article).

I predict the “better” use for PayPal in the South African market lies not so much in the hands of the consumer, but more in the business. With increased broadband, we're being afforded the ability to host more online services locally - and PayPal provides an easy and convenient mechanism for online businesses to facilitate payments on an International scale, especially now that it's possible to retrieve your funds (so it makes sense to have your business account with FNB - what a clever marketing strategy for themselves).

Another potential market area is with donations, as unsurprisingly enough this is where I’ve seen PayPal used most (I frequent Web sites that contain source code and applications), and so I often see where a developer has left a “donate now” on their site.

Before, it was impossible to retrieve the money out of the PayPal account, and so I suspect developers in South Africa didn’t worry about the functionality, unless they have access to an oversea’s bank account. I’m not sure if PayPal allows for funds in credit to accrue any interest (although you can be sure that the funds in their accounts are accruing interest, most probably at extremely high rates) – perhaps I need some clarity here.

And with the broadband revolution happening right before our eyes, we’re going to see a higher market and demand for online payment systems.