EBay/PayPal announced a new service called PayPal Buyer Credit. The credit line, which is actually issued by GE Capital Consumer Card Co. (GECCCC), provides another way to pay via PayPal (currently one can pay via PayPal via a banking account or a credit card).

The service is in general transparent to eBay sellers, although eBay will soon roll out a "Promotional Financing" option so sellers can offer flexible payment thru PayPal Buyer Credit at a price.

Most of the program details can be found in the following documents:

1) PayPal Buyer Credit Info and FAQs

2) PayPal Buyer Credit Policy/User Agreement

3) PayPal Buyer Credit - Terms and Conditions

Some interesting facts I found out:

- PayPal Buyer Credit is basically a credit line charging a very higher APR. (The regular variable APR equals prime rate plus 15.5%, but no less than 20.8%.) A late fee of $15-$35 applies.

- You need to apply for the credit line before you can use it.

- You will receive paper statement and grace period can be up to 26 days.

- According to PayPal, you can only pay back PayPal Buyer Credit via check.

- Once you enrol in the program, PayPal Buyer Credit will be the default funding source if you don't have PayPal balance or a linked banking account. You can be unknowingly paying using PayPal Buyer Credit although you may have a lower APR credit card available.

- PayPal and PayPayl Buyer Credit are separate programs. Even if you close PayPal account, the PayPal Buyer Credit account will still remain. You will need to call a different number to cancel the Buyer Credit account.

This is certainly another way for eBay to earn more money thru online auctions, but at this exorbitant rate, this can hardly be a good deal for consumers.