IDEA: Make Paypal Safer Against Online Scams & Fraud

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There have been many times when I have been dealing with third-party companies (not paypal) and you all know that show and dance...

You sign up for some "Free Trial" and of course, in the terms it will say you have to cancel 2 weeks before billing cycle or something like that, and of course they drag feet somehow conveniently and manage to snag another free chunk of money out of your account on their way out...

Reason you would cancel would be because the company failed somehow and you don't want to do business with them further...

We've been there, it's dirty tactics, we all know it.

Now here's the idea: When making a purchase, the seller usually needs to wait for payment approval before the transaction can complete, right? But that approval is usually given automatically based on available funds...

Make them wait, then, until I GIVE MY OWN APPROVAL TO THE TRANSACTION BEFORE IT CAN PROCEED.

If I don't give approval, THE TRANSACTION WILL FAIL AND I WILL RECEIVE NO MERCHANDISE.

But, obviously, if I truly did INITIATE THE TRANSACTION, then I will of course login to my paypal and go to MY PENDING TRANSACTION PAGE AND CLICK THE "APPROVE" BUTTON NEXT TO THE PENDING TRANSACTION.

This will help prevent malicious companies from AUTOMATICALLY TAKING PAYMENTS BEFORE MY APPROVAL.

Now of course, if I DENY A PENDING TRANSACTION, then the payment will fail and whatever agreement I previously had will be void (my account closed or whatever), which is EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A $0.00 BALANCE ALREADY.

This will force merchants to be more honest, and provide better support, GIVING CUSTOMERS BACK THEIR CONTROL OVER THEIR OWN MONEY.

Example, I go buy something online. The portion of the transaction that currently waits for approval, would take longer, because I would then be required to login to my account and approve the pending transaction MYSELF, before the transaction can progress any further, and if I don't, the transaction will fail the same exact way it would if the transaction wasn't approved, or you have insufficient funds.

If I didn't accept the pending transaction, my transaction would fail, and I would not receive the merchandise.

This would solve a lot of the loopholes that unscrupulous companies use to scam money from people, but it wouldn't alter the regular transaction flow on the merchant's end very much, aside from the fact that THE MERCHANT NEEDS TO AWAIT YOUR APPROVAL BEFORE THEY CAN RECEIVE YOUR MONEY. NOT AUTOMATIC APPROVAL FROM A COMPUTER.

Also, with this method, it will be very hard to argue that you didn't know what you were doing during a transaction, as well.

Because it shows definite consent, and deliberate action needed to approve a payment.

Also, if a merchant requests a RECURRING PAYMENT, IT MUST BE APPROVED BEFORE MONEY CAN BE TAKEN AUTOMATICALLY.

This gives the account owner control over the outflow of their money, and also forces merchants to do better to gain the customer's trust (Good Customer Service) and disables unscrupulous business strategies at the root of the problem:

AUTOMATIC APPROVAL OF PAYMENTS WITHOUT ACCOUNT HOLDER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND APPROVAL.

This would also make PayPal one of the MOST FAVORED ONLINE BANKING FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS. Because it would show that PayPal cares about the users who deposit money into their accounts, and protects them from online scams and fraud FAR BETTER THAN ANY OTHER! EDIT: Also, this would remove the need for PayPal users to keep a $0 balance to protect themselves from unauthorized/unknown automatic transactions without their explicit approval, because PayPal would be giving them the means to protect themselves.

I think it would be a great step toward more honest business strategies and a safer online shopping experience for the account owners who trust PayPal with their money.

What are you thoughts, comments, complaints, etc? post below. Please don't flame or post empty comments without a constructive message.

Remember: It's just an idea.