Re:PayPal is currently blocking all transactions containing ...
by tgsovlerkhgsel on Saturday September 12, 2020 @02:18PM
(#24454283)
Ebay pushed it aggressively; IIRC you effectively couldn't use ebay (or lost critical aspects like fraud protection) if you didn't use PayPal.
Outside of the US, credit cards were far from ubiquitous (and they still aren't). PayPal was the one system that could handle international transfers reasonably.
Edit: Also, speed and payments to individuals. Back when eBay was an auction house for used goods sold by individuals, not a marketplace for commercial sellers, it was the one way to get someone money that was instant. No idea how that worked in the US, but in Germany the alternative was bank transfers which took 2-3 days back then.
Outside of the US, credit cards were far from ubiquitous (and they still aren't). PayPal was the one system that could handle international transfers reasonably.
Edit: Also, speed and payments to individuals. Back when eBay was an auction house for used goods sold by individuals, not a marketplace for commercial sellers, it was the one way to get someone money that was instant. No idea how that worked in the US, but in Germany the alternative was bank transfers which took 2-3 days back then.