iTunes now accepts PayPal as an alternative form of payment

Up until
now, the only method one could purchase tracks on iTunes is by using a credit
card.  Now iTunes has taken on PayPal to allow consumers to pay for music
using their PayPal account, thus giving the potential for consumers to use their
bank account or PayPal balance without the need to have a credit card or even
give their credit card details to Apple.

PayPal currently has over 56 million registered
users and around 70% of PayPal transactions involve eBay alone.  However,
despite its success with eBay, PayPal wish to enter more new markets.  They
made $166m in the 3rd quarter of 2004, up 56% over the same quarter last
year.

In an aim to encourage PayPal members to try out
iTunes, Apple will provide five free tunes with the first PayPal purchase made
prior to 31st March 2005.  GristyMcFisty used our news submit to send in the following news:

Apple and PayPal announced on Friday that the iTunes Music Store in the US now accepts payment via PayPal's Virtual Wallet. "We are thrilled that PayPal users can now buy their music on the world's number one online music store," said Todd Pearson, general manager of PayPal's Merchant Services. PayPal allows customers to pay using a credit card, bank account or stored account balance. The first 500,000 customers to open a new iTunes account in the US using PayPal as their form of payment before March 31, 2005, will receive five free songs, the company says. Paypal, which has more than 56m registered users in 45 different countries, makes money by taking a cut from each transaction it processes. About 70 per cent of its deals involve eBay, but the company is seeking new markets. PayPal sales made $166m from July to September, a 56 per cent increase on the same moths last year. The iTunes Music Store features more than a million songs from major music companies and 600 independent labels.

For consumers who are happy to pay by credit card, Paying iTunes directly is
probably still likely the handiest method, particularly if the user does not
have a PayPal account.  Setting up a PayPal account as a new user can be a
tedious process depending on the country, for example it took about 3 months for
me to get my account set up in Ireland due them asking me to fax some details to
a non-existent fax number.  However, for eBay users and existing PayPal
users, this may tempt some into trying out the iTunes service, well at least for
the free tunes.

Feel free to discuss and find out mroe about iTunes and other music services
on our Music Downloads, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) & Legal Issues
Forum.

Source: The Register