A new rule by MasterCard could crimp online commerce by stopping merchants from accepting credit card payments through third parties, such as the popular PayPal, USA TODAY has learned.
Unless a settlement is reached, on May 1 Internet merchants and other mom-and-pop firms that rely on third-party billing could miss out on sales via the USA’s No. 2 online credit card. And MasterCard holders could have a harder time using their cards at many sites that use PayPal and similar services, says Gartner analyst Avivah Litan.