Paypal Banned Greece!

[Borisz]

Yeah, I guess Greece might have seen online transactions as a threat and an escape of the money which they might lose out. also, paypal might have thought about how Greeks might turn to paypal in need and give a rise to new scams, so they'd rather let this go than try earning revenue from a doomed country.

In the end, paypal is also an ass kisser of decentralized currency, no matter how they deal with electronic banking system, they themselves are a kind of a bank. Their deal with xoom recently might spike some interest for bitcoiners though...

Good info and view on the situation, thanks!

So far I felt that PayPal since operating online should remain relatively undisrupted in such a scenario. It's good to know that if my country suffered the same faith, my PayPal funds were just as useless as my banking funds.

I assume though that PayPal funds can be accessed without restriction for transfer within the country? So technically I could pay my bills and similar with PP, assuming it is accepted.

[qiwoman2]

I think that this is nuts because the capital controls are probably only a temporary measure like they were here in Cyprus. Paypal here is also restricted but I think we had the same happen over here when the banks closed for three whole weeks.

[greBit]

I think it would be a great idea if Bitcoin users that are currently in greece would socialize Bitcoins
Like, explaining what's bitcoin and their functionality or maybe visiting houses and telling them about the Bitcoins
But i think it's too late for all of that 

they cannot, they have their hand tied, they should have bought bitcoin before the default, now it's too late for them, the smart guy may have some funds in a abroad bank or in another paypal clone, maybe skrill?

those can still do soemthing to save their economic situation

Yeah, its too late for that. Even any collateral damage cannot be stopped because Government has given all such services a pretty decent warning that if they fuck around with their citizens, they'd be banned directly. They cannot accept any deposits as of now. Any hope for better survival can only be told in the next 2-3 days, when major events are about to take place.

There are major events taking place right now. Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Athens for two rallies, held by the yes and no camps. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras expressed a “proud no to ultimatums and those who terrorize you”. He then tweeted that Greece will be sending a “message of democracy and dignity to Europe and the world”. Rallies showing solidarity with Greece’s anti-austerity movement are also being held in other European countries, including several German cities and Rome. Shit is getting real 

[edric]

That's a pretty brutal measure. At this point Bitcoin is objectively the best way to move money in and out Greece hands down. Too bad most people still are ignorant about it.

Bitcoin may be a good option for Greece at the moment but Greece at this moment needs to be speculative and be very careful of the way it will handle its expenditures. Technically Greece shouldn't have joined the Euro zone countries and frankly it wasn't even eligible but how it managed to show that is still a wonder. Not only awareness on cryptocurrency is needed they also ought to learn more about economic strategies and policies.

[ThEmporium]

"Due to the recent decisions of the Greek authorities on capital controls, funding of PayPal wallet from Greek bank accounts, as well as cross-border transactions, funded by any cards or bank accounts are currently not available. We aim to continue serving our valued customers in Greece in full, as we have for over a decade."
Those who already have money in their paypal accounts can use it but those who want to deposit money can not do it.

So, Who is the loser here, Greeks or PayPal, according to me it is PayPal. They lost the revenue and also loose the reputation to Greeks while they are experiencing bad economic conditions at present. If PayPal think Greeks are valued customer then they should take a read following note too.

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption on our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider on our business. He is a part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

(MAHATMA GANDHI)

[randy8777]

bitcoin is a great alternative for every one world wide. not only greece. but they are too late now. smart people would have bought bitcoin way before this drama.

[Xialla]

even it is not good news for Greece and people living here, it is actually amazing news for Bitcoin and another argument in pocket, why stop being slave of fiat and some authorities, which can do anything with your OWN money..

maybe one day, there will be no paypal anymore..

[Amph]

it could explain why they have still not adopted bitcoin, because they cannot control it, i'm talking about paypal...

take this ban of Greece for example, if paypal had adopted bitcoin before the greece's departure, now they will not be able to deny the deposit of their money, unless they  remove the bitcoin payments altogether

[Harry Hood]

Does anyone know how much business Paypal was doing in Greece before this decision? Is this really a significant decision for them to make? If they don't facilitate many purchases in Greece this could be a non-story.

[neurotypical]

There are lots of people that have given the middle finger to paypal and are already accepting BTC in greece thanks o the bank.
http://www.thepressproject.gr/support/confirms
This page is pretty big in greece and now they accept BTC, so thanks paypal.

[Amph]

Does anyone know how much business Paypal was doing in Greece before this decision? Is this really a significant decision for them to make? If they don't facilitate many purchases in Greece this could be a non-story.

i doubt they were doing anything significant, greece's people were only buying the essential to live in their last years, before their default on loan happened

also i do not think paypal is stupid, they have calculated that there won't be a great revenue from leaving greece among the countries they sustain

[jeffthebaker]

I hate PayPal, I've seen terrible things come out of the service. I cannot wait until the day when currencies such as Bitcoin surpass services like PayPal.

[Gyfts]

Their currency is pretty much devalued. They're literally thinking about an exit. Paypal is basically honoring the money that's previously been deposited into the accounts, or, have been funded from other PayPal accounts, but they aren't allowed them to deposit more funds because they know it's next to worthless. Adding to that, the Greeks are already having to endure other bank and ATM limitations. Not looking good. I won't be surprised for other payment services that support Greece (if any) to slowly withdraw as their situation worsens.

[scarsbergholden]

So it begins the banning of online payment options will trigger a massive movement in other centralize payment companies to follow the ban, once the online payment user cant find a exit to their online transaction bitcoin will become the solution.

ban all centralize payment solutions bitcoin is left standing!

[nwfella]

Perfect example of why Centralized payment systems will one day (hopefully within my lifetime) be a thing of the past!

[EternalWingsofGod]

It's unfortunate that the issue is bank related but it does illustrate the weakness of being dependant on a financial institution to manage funds, that said their are benefits in the transferability of Bitcoin and the movement of capital with these type of concerns the finance of the future will be interesting whether its punishing austerity or strengthening the economy a better system to protect a persons assets is something that is becoming a serious issue in Greece.

[Borisz]

Perfect example of why Centralized payment systems will one day (hopefully within my lifetime) be a thing of the past!

I do not think that until countries with central governments exist, a decentralized currency would be possible. A government wants and needs control over the official currency, at least to some extent. It's more likely that such currencies would co-exist next to the traditional system.

[Scamc0p]

paypal is not country-friendly.
People in India complain about not being able to receive payments. And now it is outright banning nations?
Hopefully paypal will implode soon  
There are so many other options available and since they did a 180 on bitcoin I don't see myself using their high fee based payment system in the near future.

[ajareselde]

There are lots of people that have given the middle finger to paypal and are already accepting BTC in greece thanks o the bank.
http://www.thepressproject.gr/support/confirms
This page is pretty big in greece and now they accept BTC, so thanks paypal.

It seams that bitcoin is currently trending in Greece, and this situation with paypal is just adding fuel to the already large fire.
Where other payments are failing, bitcoin is thriving it seams.

cheers

[HarHarHar9965]

Perfect example of why Centralized payment systems will one day (hopefully within my lifetime) be a thing of the past!

I do not think that until countries with central governments exist, a decentralized currency would be possible. A government wants and needs control over the official currency, at least to some extent. It's more likely that such currencies would co-exist next to the traditional system.

Yeah, I might agree to that but that's how we all should evolve our economy and our nation to be like. How can we expect the trades to be fast, free and friendly if all of it is controlled by a system, especially a corrupt system. So would we let a corrupt system control something they have no right over, just to find corruption bye others? Good irony.