An alternative to Paypal: Gunpal!

[twitchyfinger]

Very interesting I have not read all the details yet so I could cautiously venture to say it's about time but this was sent to me via another firearm site:


“GUNPAL, Inc. is a transaction-neutral online payments platform with a philanthropic spirit,” announces Founder/CEO Ben Cannon. "It is also the first serious competitor for PayPal Inc."
A percentage of each transaction is donated to a selected charity at no additional cost to the user. The initial list of organizations includes the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, and the Supercomputing Disease Research Center. Users can also suggest charities for consideration.
An avid supporter of constitutional rights, Cannon created a discrimination-free online payments application, starting with the recognition of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Prohibited by PayPal's "Acceptable Use Policy", the $3 billion firearms and accessories industry has adopted GUNPAL as the payments platform of choice. “Firearms can only be sold by licensed dealers. GUNPAL is more convenient than other forms of payment as its comprehensive transaction tracking system is secure and reliable for our audits,” says Mitchel Chapman of WBtactical.com, a licensed firearms dealer.
An estimated one hundred million firearm owners nationwide now have a platform with which they can trade ammunition, scopes, and other accessories securely and hassle-free. As a socially responsible company, GUNPAL directs its firearm buyers to government documentation on current firearm laws and regulations and will provide licensed dealer listings by buyers' zip codes in a future release. Having dominated the firearms niche, GUNPAL is already targeting other under-served markets with several new projects under way.
With every line of code written in-house, most of the engineering effort has been dedicated to fraud prevention. GUNPAL’s unique anti-fraud and anti-phishing systems take a finer-toothed comb through customer data for maximum privacy and security. Reduced fraud cuts operating costs resulting in lower fees for most common transactions as compared to PAYPAL. Cannon's first company, GeoVario, LLC, was the natural choice for web-hosting services.
Founded in 2004, GUNPAL is a transaction-neutral online payment system that allows easy transfer of funds to anyone with an email address. Privately funded, GUNPAL has revolutionized the transfer of money with its pro-constitutional voice, unique anti-fraud approach, and philanthropic spirit. The company is expected to expand its services internationally in the near future.
For further information and questions, please contact pr@gunpal.net or visit http://www.gunpal.net
-Ben Cannon
CEO
GUNPAL, Inc.

[Batteriesnare]

Huh, cool.

[twitchyfinger]

Not the first serious contender. Many other companies (probably a lot better prepared and funded than this one) have tried. Paypal has it patented. Don't hold your breath. The fact it's called gunpal means they are only a few months away from a lawsuit.

I too have seen a few come and go. Would be nice to see one last as long and paypal has.

[SNAFU]

If only Gearpay survived

[cysoto]

The fact it's called gunpal means they are only a few months away from a lawsuit.
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/260809/thumbnail/smiley%20sign%20i%20agree.gif

[Dr_Fwd]

Not the first serious contender. Many other companies (probably a lot better prepared and funded than this one) have tried. Paypal has it patented. Don't hold your breath. The fact it's called gunpal means they are only a few months away from a lawsuit.

yeap

[sniper7]

hopefully it stays around. it would be nice to see a class action lawsuit against paypal for closing accounts of users who buy guns using paypal...but since it is their property I guess not. wouldn't stop obama if he was against it though.[NoEvil]

[alan0269]

Not the first serious contender. Many other companies (probably a lot better prepared and funded than this one) have tried. Paypal has it patented. Don't hold your breath. The fact it's called gunpal means they are only a few months away from a lawsuit.

I'm not sure about the lawsuit - they have a couple of attorneys on their board of directors that I would hope have covered all the bases prior to their actual start-up. Has anyone here signed up to use their service yet? I just found out about it today and it sounds like a great idea, but...

[Bailey Guns]

I actually signed up for GunPal quite a while ago. I've recently started using them quite regularly and have been very satisfied thus far.

The fees are equivalent to PayPal without the anti-gun BS. Transaction fees are higher than a regular merchant account but by the time you figure statment fees and all the other fees that go along with a merchant account, it's only slightly more overall.

I had a minor technical issue on Sat. I sent GunPal an email and an actual person responded and had the issue resolved in about 2 hours.

About 10 days ago I had 2 unauthorized transactions on my PayPal account. Secure my ass. I won't use them any more now that there's a viable alternative. GunPal is at 10,000+ users and counting in 90 days.

[sniper7]

Yeah I am thinking about opening a gunpal account pretty soon. It is too bad their fees are higher, but as long as they offer some protection and still do a good job with quick payments I am all for it.

[twitchyfinger]

I actually signed up for GunPal quite a while ago. I've recently started using them quite regularly and have been very satisfied thus far.

The fees are equivalent to PayPal without the anti-gun BS. Transaction fees are higher than a regular merchant account but by the time you figure statment fees and all the other fees that go along with a merchant account, it's only slightly more overall.

I had a minor technical issue on Sat. I sent GunPal an email and an actual person responded and had the issue resolved in about 2 hours.

About 10 days ago I had 2 unauthorized transactions on my PayPal account. Secure my ass. I won't use them any more now that there's a viable alternative. GunPal is at 10,000+ users and counting in 90 days.


Thanks for the update Carl! Glad to see they are still around and increasing the numbers. I have been hearing a bunch of positives from other places too.

[68Charger]

I find it amusing that Paypal has created a competitor mainly because of their anti-gun policy...

had they not treated legal transactions with such disdain, then Gunpal wouldn't have been able to get so much traction so fast..
I hope they succeed so well that they need to create an alternative to ebay [Coffee]

[Troublco]

I'm going to sign up. I won't touch PayPal with a stick. And ditto on the competitor to eBay. Maybe Gunbroker can come up with a corollary site.

[Ridge]

FYI, the guy who designed and owns GunPal is in a prison right now, pending trial for pulling people over while dressed up as a police officer...he isnt one.

[Ranger353]

FYI, the guy who designed and owns GunPal is in a prison right now, pending trial for pulling people over while dressed up as a police officer...he isnt one.

Now that's an interesting little factoid. [Coffee]

[Bailey Guns]

Interesting read over on CalGuns.net:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=269770

[68Charger]

FYI, the guy who designed and owns GunPal is in a prison right now, pending trial for pulling people over while dressed up as a police officer...he isnt one.


Was not aware of this, but just to be clear, he's out on bail at the moment- not "in prison".. he posted over at calguns today...
but interesting allegations nonetheless...

[Irving]

Maybe it will be just like how that lower manufacturer promised that they weren't illegally selling guns out the back door.

[DocMedic]

I'm not sure why theres so much hate over Paypal, I've been doing business with them since 2000, and at one time and point I had over $10k in my PP Account. Yea theres some BS you have to go through if your using it to buy stuff. But you can avoid those "extra" charges with a little communication.

[Ridge]

Maybe it will be just like how that lower manufacturer promised that they weren't illegally selling guns out the back door.

I see what you did there...

[Ridge]

I'm not sure why theres so much hate over Paypal, I've been doing business with them since 2000, and at one time and point I had over $10k in my PP Account. Yea theres some BS you have to go through if your using it to buy stuff. But you can avoid those "extra" charges with a little communication.

Well, for example, if they determine your transaction had anything to do with firearms, they can close your account and keep all the money still in it. If you attempt to move the funds to your bank account, they will take them back and then hold them.

Its stealing, plain and simple, but since it is in the EULA, they are legally covered...

[Ridge]

CEO of GunPal's case was dismissed. They used GPS data from his phone to show he was nowhere near the reported crime he was arrested for...

[Irving]

So he left his phone at home? Good thinking.

What was the crime?

[sniper7]

So he left his phone at home? Good thinking.

What was the crime?


yeah or in his car, you never know. curious as to what the crime was as well

[Ridge]

He was accused of dressing up as a police officer and pulling people over to give them warnings.

It was knocked down to driving with a suspended license.

Then it was dismissed entirely.

[Irving]

Oh yeah, I remember now. Thanks for the updates.

[Bailey Guns]

It seems the folks over at GPal/GunPal just can't get their collective shit together.

This time it's over non-disbursement of funds. They've gone from one excuse to another: their bank won't process their transactions, their phones are down, their email system doesn't work.

I'm pretty lucky. I only have one pending payment in the amount of about $358. After trying to get help from their "customer support" (that's a total joke) since the 19th I finally heard from them today after filing a complaint/claim with FDIC. "Chad" finally returned an email and said they'd send a check out right away.

Other guys are into GPal for thousands and are on the verge of going out of business.

CalGuns.net even started a whole new sub-forum to deal with all the complaints.

Personally, I really supported these guys in the beginning but they'll never see another transaction from me. Total bunch of fuckups.

I certainly will no longer recommend anyone use GPal.

[Ridge]

I was hearing about this alot last month over on ARF...supposedly they changed banks and it was supposed to clear things up, but it doesnt sound like that is happening...

[Bailey Guns]

Nope. They're continuing to accept transactions (and people's money) but they're not disbursing funds.

The last sale I did with them was on July 15. They didn't have any problems accepting my money. But they sure as hell have one excuse after another for why it can't be paid.

I've heard of a few people who've actually received checks...but not many. I've seen some guys on the forums who've done $30K in transactions and have collected nothing.

I've filed complaints with the CO AG's office, CA AG's office, BBB and the FTC.

I can understand the issue with banks processing credit card transactions on gun sales...I've ran into that myself lately and it's an ongoing problem. But if that's the case, why have they continued to accept money from merchants/customers when they know they aren't able to disburse funds? That's the part that really pisses me off.