EBAY Australia has responded to the groundswell of criticism over its move to make PayPal, which it owns, the main payment method on its auction website, arguing the change improves security.Financial institutions, including the Reserve Bank, individuals and other organisations have made submissions to the ACCC, mostly denouncing eBay`s move as anti-competitive.
According to an ACCC spokesman, about 700 submissions were received.
On May 25, eBay sent the ACCC an 11-page response to the submissions.
EBay said its submission centred on competition, public benefit and choice.
The changes to its auction site were unlikely to have any substantial effect on the online payments market, which included banks, BPAY and credit card companies that were much larger than PayPal, it said.
"PayPal users must have a bank account or Visa or MasterCard, so PayPal and its users are able to benefit from the security measures provided by these financial institutions as well as the additional benefits offered by PayPal," eBay said.
It insisted that buyers would still have the choice of different payment methods, although the only way to transact would be through PayPal, or cash on delivery. The ACCC will make a ruling by mid-June.
CEBIT Australia 2008 comfortably met its pre-show targets last week, with more than 35,000 visitors going through the doors
