PayPal strikes bank deals

Ebay's PayPal has struck up deals with Singapore's DBS and China's bankcard association China UnionPay to offer consumers an even higher level of accessibility to online buying.In a press statement PayPal said, "DBS/POSB customers make up 90% of the bank account holders in Singapore, and through PayPal, they can now shop online conveniently at leading Singapore merchants as well as at nearly eight million retailers globally by debiting their DBS/POSB accounts to fund their PayPal accounts."DBS also has the largest consumer internet banking customer base in Singapore of more than 1.35 million customers and a 35% market share.A deal has also been struck up with China UnionPay (CUP), allowing CUP members to use PayPal to shop online. There are 2.1 billion CUP card holders at present."After years of being the export hub for the world, today marks the day that China is open for business as an import e-commerce market. PayPal's partnership with China UnionPay removes an important friction point that exists across borders and we are thrilled to eliminate the payments barrier so merchants can welcome millions of new Chinese customers to their sites," Scott Thompson, president of PayPal said.This will commence in the third quarter of 2010, giving merchants the opportunity to spend the coming months preparing their web stores for Chinese consumers, including adding Chinese translation and cost effective shipping methods.PayPal is headquartered in San Jose, California and its international headquarters is located in Singapore.