PayPal suspends India services

The online payments service PayPal has taken the unusual step of suspending many transactions in India for more than a week, reports ABC News.

A spokesman for the service says 'personal payments' to and from India are being blocked. Transfers to banks in India are being suspended as well.

The spokesman, Anuj Nayar, says PayPal is taking the step while it answers questions that have arisen about the service. He declined to elaborate.

The European Commission has met with European Union (EU) member states to consider introducing rules they claim will even the playing field between traditional bricks and mortar and online retailers, writes PublicTechnology.net.

The move came as a survey indicated that UK shoppers are the keenest in Europe to indulge in e-commerce, accounting for a third of all European online sales.

A study undertaken by the Centre for Retail Research indicated that UK consumers spent £38 billion (R458.8 billion) or the equivalent of £1 070 (R12 000) per shopper on Internet-based purchases in 2009. The figure equates to 10% of all retail sales in the country, but is expected to rise to by almost a fifth to £42.7 billion (R515.6 billion) over the year ahead.

E-business company Skali Sdn Bhd hopes to consolidate 8 000 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs by year-end through its new e-commerce service, EmbunWeb, states The Star.

EmbunWeb offers Web-hosting services, Internet marketing strategies, and courses on developing Web sites, creating blogs, and setting up e-stores.

Skali already has 4 000 SME clients and plans to get 4 000 more SMEs involved in this initiative through discussions with SME Corp, an agency set up to spur the development of SMEs.