JANUARY 10, 2000, Detroit Free Press Owe money? Send it over the Internet Confinity Inc. has made sending money to others as simple as sending e-mail. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based Internet security company has launched PayPal, a free service that allows people to "beam" money from any digital device such as a computer or personal data assistant -- and soon a cell phone -- to anyone with an e-mail account. JANUARY 6, 2000, The Wall Street Journal Digits: Gambits & Gadgets In the World of Technology "Star Trek" seems to be the final frontier for Internet companies in need of icons. Last month, PayPal of Palo Alto, Calif., said it signed up actor James Doohan as spokesman for the company. NOVEMBER 25, 1999, Electronic Telegraph Pay by email THE well-worn phrase "the cheque is in the post" could soon be replaced by "the money is in the email". American software company Confinity has found a way to let people send money with email messages, allowing them to distribute it from palmtop computers or even between mobile phones. NOVEMBER 17, 1999, Financial Times WEB PRIVACY: Service that respects taste and privacy Every new generation of computers needs a "killer app"; an application so compelling that millions of people are drawn to purchase the equipment to use it. So what would convince me to put the PalmPilot back in my purse, or to pick up a new cellular telephone with internet access capabilities? As a personal organiser, the handheld computer is a poor relation to the pocket diary or calendar. As an internet access device for reading web sites and e-mail, it is inferior to the larger screened laptop computer. NOVEMBER 16, 1999, ZDNet Credit Cards Accepted Here Paper money serves its purpose admirably, but that's not stopping entrepreneurs from coming up with alternatives. The latest idea is the new PayPal from startup Confinity-an application and Web site that can turn any handheld device, cellular phone, pager, or PC for that matter, into an electronic money terminal that enables anyone-not just merchants-to accept credit card payments. NOVEMBER 16, 1999, Yahoo! Beaming Money by Email is Web's Next Killer App Confinity, a pioneer in the future of mobile payments, today launched PayPal, the first Web-based service that enables consumers to beam money via email, Palm organizers, cell phones, pagers and other web-enabled devices. Unlike current online payment systems that require users to know bank account numbers of payment recipients, PayPal users only need an email address to beam a payment. NOVEMBER 15, 1999, PC World Beam Me Up Some Money, Scotty So you're dining out with a bunch of friends and would like to pick up your share of the tab, but are short on cash. You could write a check, or promise to pay for the next meal. Or you could use PayPal, a free new Web-based service that makes sending personal payments online as easy as typing the recipient's e-mail address and the sum you wish to pay. NOVEMBER 15, 1999, The Wall Street Journal Paypal Electronic Plan May Be On the Money in Years to Come Thanks to a new Web-based payment service called Paypal, consumers can soon beam money via electronic-mail, mobile phones or Web-enabled pocket organizers. Unlike current online-payment systems that require users to know bank-account numbers of payment recipients, Paypal users only need an e-mail address or a phone number to beam a payment. NOVEMBER 15, 1999, ZDNet Start-Up Touts Mobile Cash Transfer System How would you send me $20 over the Web? Internet start-up Confinity this week is launching a digital cash system that it said addresses the shortcomings of other Web-based payment schemes. NOVEMBER 12, 1999, Forbes ASAP CAPITAL CONTAGION Yes, yes, Peter Thiel, 31, knows he’s facing an uphill battle. His little startup, Confinity, is attempting to do what other startups have tried and failed to do-create “digital money.” But he and his partner, 24-year-old Max Levchin, have spent time studying where others went wrong and have come up with a fascinating business plan that mixes epidemics with economics. SEPTEMBER 8, 1999, CNBC Beam Me up Some Cash Start-up Confinity Inc. hopes to become a financial services powerhouse by pioneering an inexpensive new way to move money: wireless cash. "[The company] may have a handle on something quite good," says Robert Sterling, an analyst at Jupiter Communications, based in New York. SEPTEMBER 2, 1999, The Wall Street Journal Bartering for Equity Can Offer Sweet Rewards in Silicon Valley (subscription required) And not only did Mr. Levchin [of Confinity, Inc.] have to give his landlord some stock to win a bidding war for the space; he also had to present his business plan and explain why his company was a good bet. AUGUST 23, 1999, San Francisco Chronicle Sometimes Opportunity Does Knock Confinity believes that there's going to be a boom in demand for cashless transactions. "It's not going to be what the e- commerce people do on their desktop," argues Confinity CEO Peter Thiel. "It's what the e-commerce people do in the real world, away from the desktop." AUGUST 2, 1999, allNetDevices The REAL Net Device Killer Apps Instant messaging, for the most part, is for small talk. We're much more taken with the practicality of payment applications such as PayPal, which could permanently change for the better how we conduct our finances. JULY 29, 1999, International Herald Tribune Money Beamer Rob Sterling, an analyst for Jupiter Communications in New York, said he thought that many of the 4 million Palm organizer users would add PayPal to their device. ''If two people go out for dinner and decide to split the tab, one person points their Palm device at the other person's Palm device and it's done. The money is passed,'' he said. JULY 27, 1999, Wired News PayPal Puts Dough in Your Palm "All these devices will become one day just like your wallet," said Confinity CEO Peter Thiel. "Every one of your friends will become like a virtual, miniature ATM." JULY 26, 1999, ZDNet A Palm In The Hand Is Like Money In The Bank Confinity, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up, ... with a service that lets people exchange "instant money" between their PalmPilots, phones, pagers and other Web-enabled devices. The idea behind the PayPal service, Confinity tells me, is to give people a way to pay off small debts between each other. JULY 23, 1999, Red Herring Investors beam funding to Confinity Confinity chose its financiers carefully, signing up two investors that represent the main aspects of the company's business. Nokia is one of the biggest cell phone companies in the world, and Deutsche Bank one of the biggest banks. For now the company is focusing on attracting users to its service, and if all goes according to plan, Mr. Nosek says Confinity will look at adding new services related to alternative payments in the future. JULY 23, 1999, UPSIDE Today Today's Happenings Confinity's service that lets people exchange "instant money" between their Palm Pilots or Windows CE devices, phones and pagers. JULY 23, 1999, InternetNews.com Nokia Invests In Net Device Payment Technology Confinity's PayPal product will enable users to use their Net device as a credit card substitute. JULY 22, 1999, The Wall Street Journal Beam it up, Scotty (subscription required) Confinity's product, called PayPal, is one of the first commercial applications to take advantage of the handhelds' infrared beaming capabilities... JULY 21, 1999, San Jose Mercury News Please, just beam $3 million to hand-held -- it's for start-up A year-old start-up called Confinity, which is developing software to allow people to transfer money on mobile devices, [received] a $3 million first-round of funding from Nokia Ventures and Deutsche Bank. Here's the stunt: The money [was] beamed to Confinity's CEO, Peter Thiel, via his Palm hand-held computer.