Money market &paypal - Page 2

dlh75 · 03-02-2003, 11:47 AM

ok thanks

Gomer · 03-02-2003, 11:58 AM

Quote:

.6% is better than you'll get from a savings account with your local bank.

my bank pays 2.75% APR on its money martket checking account.

MrLuigi · 03-03-2003, 07:59 AM

Would not trust PayPal with YOUR money, let alony MY money.
I had my account frozen for 6 months because someone else was trying to send me money from a stolen credit card...and I don't even sell stuff on ebay. I only used paypal to send money to my MOM in another state....even after confirming all my data (both faxed & snail-mailed) they would not re-open my account and sent me a check 90 days after the 6 months of frozen account.
Just do a google search for "paypal problems"

jdurbin · 03-03-2003, 08:53 AM

I used to work for a bank and I can give you some details. A money market account is a fund that invests in treasury securities and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are short-term IOUs between very large credit-worthy firms. It is possible for a fund to lose money if they do a really bad job of deciding where to invest the funds but it isn't likely. If Paypal is advertising it as a "money market" fund then they are investing in these types of securities and not loaning it to themselves to lower their cost of capital - that would be illegal. In fact, they are probably having a professional investment firm manage the money market fund for the clients (us) and earning a fee on it to supplement their revenue.

I have a Paypal account and I am using the money market option. When someone pays me I use the debit card to get my money out of the account instead of immediately transferring to my checking account. Doing so gives me the 1.5% rebate which helps defray my Paypal fees. When my money is sitting in Paypal's accounts I have the choice of getting nothing on that money or getting the 1.45% money market return. I wouldn't put all my money with Paypal because there are better places for it but I think the money market option is a legitimate way to get a slightly bigger return on my money than just letting it sit there earning zero return. As Undeadlord points out, Paypal is owned by eBay and eBay isn't going to let their reputation get tarnished by letting the Paypal customers get screwed.

Nighthawk · 03-04-2003, 01:13 AM

I don't think I'd risk it.. As has been said before, they aren't FDIC insured.

osprey4 · 03-04-2003, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nighthawk
I don't think I'd risk it.. As has been said before, they aren't FDIC insured.

Of course, there are many investments that aren't FDIC insured, including most of our retirement funds. Nobody would be so foolish to put tens of thousands of dollars into PayPal, so keeping a few hundred dollars in an account seems like a relatively small risk.

jdurbin · 03-04-2003, 08:32 AM

Even if you bought a money market fund from a bank it would not be guaranteed by the FDIC. Here's the blurb from PayPal's site:

"PayPal is proud to offer the PayPal Money Market Fund as an easy to use and valuable service to users. By partnering with Barclays Global Investors, PayPal brings to users the expertise of one of the world's largest and most experienced money managers.

The results have been exceptional. According to iMoneyNet, the Fund is currently the nation's highest yielding retail prime money fund, as ranked out of 307 investment companies. Additionally, PayPal's Money Market Fund features the flexibility of no minimum investment and no limit on withdrawals.

A money market fund is a mutual fund that invests in high-quality, short-term securities such as U.S. Treasury bills or notes. Rather than investing in stocks, it invests in stable, low-risk securities which emphasize attractive yields combined with safety of money."

Barclays is a major investment firm with $700 billion in money managed. A money market fund is very, very safe. Plus, how much do you guys have in your PayPal accounts? I've only nudged over $1,000 once.

sixf00t4 · 06-18-2003, 11:26 PM

i have a grand in my savings...only earning 17 cents on it. any opinions change on the matter? i am seriously thinking about moving atleast half of that over

consumertalks · 06-19-2003, 10:04 AM

eBay may have changed things since they purchased it, but I've cancelled my PayPal account a few times, then re-opened it with a different email and bank account if I think some of my buyers seem shady. It's not worth them taking everything in your checking account, which could be attached to your paypal account, if they simply want to.

www.paypalwarning.com