PayPal, the popular service for making and receiving payments
over the internet, is to start fining those who use it to pay for
on-line gambling and porn services, according to a report by
Reuters. PayPal will also target the unauthorised sale of
prescription drugs.
According to Reuters, from 24th September, buyers and sellers
using PayPal will face fines of up to $500 if they use the service
in relation to gambling or porn web sites, or for the sale or
purchase of prescription drugs from unlicensed sellers – all in
breach of PayPal's user agreement.
The action follows that taken by credit card issuers such as
American Express and Citygroup who have blocked payments to
gambling sites on a voluntary basis for some time now.
Regulatory pressure on banks, credit card companies and payment
service processors is intense in the US, as authorities seek to
crack down on internet gambling and pornography.
Despite legislation and enforcement action at both federal and
state level, authorities are pretty much powerless to directly stop
US citizens accessing off-shore web sites, and are turning to
indirect means of doing so including the targeting of the
on-line payment methods used by consumers, particularly for
gambling.
But PayPal spokeswoman Amanda Pires told Reuters that the tough
approach was not the consequence of regulatory pressure. "What
you're seeing here is an evolution of our program. We're trying to
deter people who would offer PayPal as a way to pay for anything in
these categories," she said.
