The world isn’t big enough for PayPal anymore.
Forget Square, Stripe and Dwolla — PayPal’s rocketing past its young competition and bringing its payments platform — used by 128 million people — into outer space! The eBay subsidiary announced this morning that it is light years ahead of the competition with its new PayPal Galactic Initiative.
Confused? You are not alone.
The announcement was expanded upon at 9 a.m. PDT at www.paypal-galactic.com. It was broadcast from the SETI Institute — SETI meaning “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.” SETI was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered — where else? — in Mountain View in Silicon Valley. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin made an appearance toward the end of the presentation.
PayPal is headquartered just down the road in San Jose.
Some key quotes from the announcement:
“The enabling infrastructure pieces are starting to come together, and as we start planning to inhabit other planets, the practical realities of life still need to be addressed.”
“Already the need for a payment system off Earth exists. Astronauts inhabiting space stations today still need to pay for life’s necessities—from their bills back on Earth to their entertainment, like music and e-books, while in space.”
“Creating a secure and functional commerce system that can operate in space at scale will not be easy, but with the support of the scientific community, other technology companies and the public at large, we hope to find the solutions to address these challenges.”
The preferred payment type for the Space Hotel slated to open in 2016? It’s gotta be PayPal. It only costs about $800,000 to get there, and will cost $160,00 for a five-night stay, plus min-bar and movie charges. Speaking of movies, we see great opportunities for PayPal product placement in upcoming science fiction movies.
Video from the initiative is below.
UPDATED after presentation at 9 AM Pacific, 12 noon Eastern.