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Why do we call it "frozen"? It sounds more like "stolen" to me.
by dTal 8y ago
Why do we call it "frozen"? It sounds more like "stolen" to me.
- jdironman 8y agoRight, if someone says alright, put your money in this box. But then they take the box and close it and say no, you can't open it, Sorry. What does that sound more like? Frozen, or stolen?
- vntok 8y agoFrozen, as long as they don't take the money either.
- teddyh 8y agoBut with PayPal, that’s not the case. Your “money” in your account at PayPal is just a number in a table. The actual money, however, is in PayPal’s bank account where it is earning PayPal interest and investment opportunities.
- drc500free 8y agoTo be fair, anything other than M0 (physical cash) is just a number in a table. Banking regulations that ensure ease of access are the only reason other "numbers in tables" are considered part of the money supply.
- megous 8y agoYou probably want it to be in a table that earns you interest, not PayPal, though.
- Aunche 8y agoI may be wrong like this, but I think only banks are allowed to earn interest on your cash, and Paypal isn't a bank.
- pdonis 8y agoThe "money" in your Paypal account isn't "your cash". As you say, Paypal isn't a bank. Your Paypal balance is Paypal's cash, which it allows you to use for purchasing things with Paypal, or to transfer to your own bank account. But in the meantime, it's Paypal's money, which Paypal keeps in its own bank or investment vehicle, earning interest for Paypal.
- dTal 8y agoThe already have the money. The notion that it's somehow "in your account" is just PayPal fiction - especially if they deny you access to "your account" indefinitely. (Supposedly they don't operate fractional reserve, which means that Peter Thiel pinky-promises not to touch the principle. But it's still in PayPal commercial investment vehicles, earning away.)
- icebraining 8y agoPeter Thiel hasn't been CEO of PayPal for almost 20 years...
- mindslight 8y agoWhich just goes to show how insanely difficult it is to find good pinky swear talent. It's like the voice-over of Silicon Valley.
- gumby 8y agoSo if a crook steals your money and buries it in the back yard instead of spending it it's not theft?
- dTal 8y ago"...It's not about making money, it's about taking money. Destroying the status quo because the status is not quo." -- Dr. Horrible
- TeMPOraL 8y agoIt was a bad analogy. A better one would be, you send a friend to pick up some money for you, and when the friend returns, they suddenly refuse to give you the money.
- ricardobeat 8y agoI would call that theft, no question.
- welly 8y agoPayPal are not your friend.
- ShinTakuya 8y agoPayPal has no obligation to keep your money in a secure trust, so essentially your balance is just a recorded number. The actual money is being invested. They keep a small pool of money in reserve and in easily liquifiable investments to cover withdrawals of course.
- dd36 8y agoYes they do. They’re a licensed money transmitter.
- scohesc 8y agoI can bet my absolute bottom dollar that the money is frozen, but they're still making interest on it. Stolen is more appropriate here.
- mcherm 8y agoPayPay calls it "frozen" because that is the term that actual regulated banks use when they temporarily deny access to an account because of a government order or a fraud investigation. It is to PayPal's benefit to use terminology that makes them look like a bank.