Alternative Online Payment Options: Here to Stay?

In light of eBay's billion-dollar acquisition of BillMeLater, which cut 1,000 jobs - are alternative online payment options here to stay? These solutions might attract consumers who are hesitant about placing a large purchase on a debit or credit card. PayPal has offered credit solutions for its customers but now eBay is banking on its own merchant services.

But what if you could offer your customers your products for free for things that they apparently want to do anyway? It turns out that you could get paid as if customers purchased from you directly. This is where alternative payment companies like TrialPay, Webloyalty and Affinion help. TrialPay is a different kind of alternative payment, a conversion tool for the large numbers of customers who ordinarily would not pay. Just as BillMeLater can help convert a customer who might not have enough cash to make a purchase, TrialPay helps convert customers who wouldn't normally purchase -- period -- by allowing those customers to "pay" when they transact with a trusted partner for which they have a high willingness to pay. Those companies pay TrialPay for the customer acquisition, which covers the cost of the product or discount you give away to the customer.

My two cents: As people continue to struggle through our country's economic crisis, these options offer assistance to those whose budgets are tighter than ever. However, there is definitely much concern when the decision results in significant job loss for workers.