An interesting article with PayPal’s founder Peter Thiel reveals that had he known about the difficulties in the payments space, he would have never founded Paypal.

Though we aren’t sure of the specific difficulties he is referring to, this article pretty much makes the point that many payment professionals have been trying to make to merchants for years. That point is that this industry does take lots of work, and though the rates seem “high” to some merchants, those merchants are paying for something very important and very necessary in today’s marketplace. What would the world of business be today if not for the advancement of payment cards like Visa, MC, Amex, Discover, etc? Many industries and businesses wouldn’t even exist.

With all the innovation that has happened, there has been increased fraud, new devices being rolled out almost daily that need to be supported, and many new business types that are looking to accept payments. Along with protecting the merchants, payment firms realize that the consumer’s card data and purchasing experience is what drives the economy, and this business…

I do understand that some merchants have fallen victim to dishonest merchant sales reps, but most reps are honest, hardworking people, and are more than earning their incomes. I have personally witnessed merchants complain about an 8-9 dollar monthly fee for a fully functional merchant account in their name (not a third party solution), while many of us pay in the $50-$150 monthly for more trivial services, such as cable, phone, or even a night out with the family to see a movie. Why do so many expect to pay below $9 per month for something as important as handling a merchant’s money?

PayPal has had a great model for small merchants that has worked for them, but when a merchant wants more control over their merchant account, even PayPal is forced to charge more per month than their free service – there are just too many dynamics’ in the payments space and as time goes on, and fraudsters continue to innovate, and government entities continue to pay closer attention, more changes will be made and merchants will have to adjust as payment professionals have already been doing for the past few years.

This release on Peter Theil’s interview was generated on BusinessInsider’s website at https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-interview-paypal-facebook-2011-6?r=US&IR=T&IR=T