Rumors that Microsoft will launch Online Payments Service

[mandy]

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is developing on an online payment system that will be cheaper than credit card transactions, making it possible for companies to charge small fees for Web-based content and services they now offer for free...

full article: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/arti...topstories

By undercutting credit card fees, the Microsoft offering would enable an online newspaper to profitably charge small fees for individual articles, Gates put forth as an example.

A new universal Microsoft online micro payments system could attract the legions of independent Web publishers, blogs and small ecommerce plays, with the potential to be a significant rival to eBay’s PayPal...

Google's AdSense business could potentially be disrupted by a well thought out Microsoft micro payments offering. In lieu of monetization by content "enhanced" by Google's "Sponsored Links," Websites could monetize their own content directly.

Direct monetization would enable Web publishers to keep users at their sites, without revenue sharing with Google and without need for the ubiqutous "Ads by Goooooogle."...

full article: http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/?p=913

[bargainbloodhound]

Did anyone bother to ask the users if they would be willing to pay for content? If site A uses Microsoft and charges for articles and Site B uses AdSense and has free articles which one do you think the average websurfer will prefer?