PayPal to take on BillMeLater with PayPal "Pay Later"

In an interesting twist, this AM eBay/PayPal announced a direct competing feature to I4 Commerce's BillMeLater functionality as part of PayPal Express called "PayPal Pay Later". 

Like BML, PPPL, will allow a consumer to apply for and receive instant credit as part of the checkout flow.  Based on the credit check they can then continue adding items to their cart.  Consumers love it because it's like an instant credit card.  Merchants love it because it improves conversions and has a dramatic bump on AOV.

As previously posted, it's widely rumored that I4 is prepping for an IPO, so the timing of this solution is definitely interesting.

If you've been following eBay as long as we have, it's very likely IMO that they tried to acquire I4, were rebuffed and decided to go head to head (anyone remember billpoint vs. paypal?).

One thing is for sure, it will be interesting to see if serious competition from eBay/Paypal is enough to scuttle/delay an I4 IPO!

Interested merchants can sign up here.