PayPal confirmed it will open its global payments platform to third-party developers to "unleash developer innovation." Senior Director of the PayPal Platform Damon Hougland wrote on a PayPal blog hosted on X.com that the new set of APIs would offer unlimited possibilities for developers to easily monetize their ideas by providing security and connectivity to the world's financial systems.
Last year, eBay opened its platform to developers for selling applications, launching a pilot program called Project Echo. In April 2009, eBay demonstrated Selling Manager Applications and revealed the business model: it would take a 20 percent share of the fees developers charged sellers for using their applications. In return, developers would gain exposure to eBay sellers who use Selling Manager through listings in the App Catalog.
PayPal did not reveal details about how its open platform approach would work or what kind of business model developers could expect, but spokesperson Amanda Pires said more information would be revealed at a small July 23rd event at PayPal headquarters. There will be a one-hour presentation followed by an optional Code & Build lab.
A registration page for the July meeting, which will also be webcast, offered a glimpse into what types of applications might be considered: Social media; Gaming/entertainment; Ecommerce; Mobile/consumer electronics; Mashups; and Enterprise applications. PayPal will host its Developers Conference in November.
PayPal confirmed it will open its global payments platform to third-party developers to "unleash developer innovation." Senior Director of the PayPal Platform Damon Hougland 
