In these increasingly impatient times, who has the time to actually click a link, visit a website and enter their details in order to purchase goods and/or services? Certainly it makes some degree of sense to streamline online purchasing, and a number of services are attempting to do just that.
Chirpify has perhaps the best chance of grabbing a hold on the emerging market. Expanding on the simplified but still multiple-step processes offered by companies like Paypal or Amazon, the startup is focused on giving both customers and businesses the opportunity to conduct their online transactions through social networks alone. They currently offer support for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). Just respond to an ad or offer with ‘buy’ (‘gimme’ for competitions and the like) or a simple retweet, and that’s it - transaction complete.
Well, that’s not entirely it: first-time users will need to set up a Chirpify account, tying their various details to a Chirpify account. Users can currently choose to use credit cards or Paypal for payment. However, after this initial setup, users are good to go. Receipts and transaction information are managed through emails or direct messages. Businesses can also use the service to allow users to make offers, and charities and other groups could potentially use it for fundraising.
It’s proving to be a very promising idea for many. As reported by Tech Crunch today, Chirpify's founders have managed to secure €4.5 million in venture capital investment. Their service has already been used to sell goods from brands like Adidas and musicians such as Green Day and Amanda Palmer, so they're steadily gaining high-profile support as well.
However, while Chirpify has gained an early lead in the field, they’re not the only ones with their eye on the e-commerce pie. Some direct competitors like Ribbon have already emerged, while the existing giants like Paypal and Google Wallet are likely to challenge these startups with innovations and simplified processes of their own.
There are also some practical concerns. The price may prove a sticking point for many buyers and sellers alike. Chirpify, for example, currently charge 5% commission on top of 30c (US) per transaction. Users who opt for Paypal will have to pay that company’s transaction fees on top of Chirpify’s.
As these social network payment services gain more media attention, there will likely be more questions raised about the robustness of their security. What happens to those who might be unlucky enough to have their Twitter accounts hacked or fall victim to scams or fraudulent sellers? Whose responsibility will it be to deal with these issues when they inevitably arise?
These are concerns that are likely to be confronted one way or the other as the services expand and develop over the coming years. Still, the foundations have been laid - it won’t be long before e-commerce is a three-letter tweet away, even if it’s hard to know who will remain the ultimate victor in the battle for online payment dominance.
