Can we talk about PayPal a minute? They are still stuck in an 15-year-old eBay time warp in a lot of their toolsets.

While they still have a great consumer value prop (stored payments, international reach), their merchant tools have always been abysmal.

True facts:

• I launched Amazon Pay (which I am generally not inclined to like as a brand/merchant -- right??) and my funds are released almost immediately for each captured order, without tracking numbers, and funds are automatically swept out of my account. Without me asking. It is 2020, right? These things are table stakes.

Meanwhile in Bizarro-world...

• For each PayPal order connected to my account, I need to update tracking numbers manually. For them to maybe release payments of my ALREADY CAPTURED orders - mostly. (Isn't there a better use of employee time?) (and I shouldn't need new software to do this)

• Then beg support to let me into the "auto-sweep" my own money to my own bank account that I am required to connect. And be denied. Why? They won't say.

Only to be ignored, more than once a week, by PayPal's glorious Message Center feature. I can't recall a worse support experience in the last 10 years. Amazon is undeniably innovative, but sometimes they win hearts and minds, by default.

Manoj Namboodiri suggested switching to Stripe. PayPal is an alternative payment... It's not about switching, just about extra choice. It does have adoption. As I said, their consumer brand is pretty decent. This is a merchant rant :)

Jayant Bahel said: “Paypal undoubtedly revolutionized the payment industry, but it's soon becoming a legacy tool if doesn't innovate soon. Asia is leading the change and it won't be a surprise if the next big thing in the payments world comes from India or China, where the volume of local cash less transactions happening on a daily basis is mind boggling. It's just a matter of time for this tech to be adopted on a global scale.” Great points.

Matthew Holman chimed in with this somewhat conspiratorial thought: “I feel like their tracking number system is intentionally designed to keep you from integrating a shipping software system that would manage that for you... so you buy postage from them.” Eyebrow raise!

Scott Morrison agreed with a lot of what I’ve said, and summed up pretty succinctly what can/may/will/has already (?) happen(ed) to eBay: “First to market. Poor innovation. Opens door. Gets eaten.” Gulp.