“PayPal provides Kiva with free payment processing. Kiva’s is the first account at PayPal with a free payment processing agreement.”
The first, and not likely the last.
Money is a medium of exchange. Kiva is a milestone in the transition from paper money to digital money because of its position with PayPal. Exchanges incur a cost of transaction, at the very least the time it takes to actually exchange. Right now, most digital transactions go through credit card companies, which take a cut of transactions at numerous points.
The advantage of online networks, like online games, is that they can use their own currency and bypass transaction fees. Of course, the currency of most online games don’t have a wide scope of value. Microsoft Points are an example of a digital currency with growing area of use–Xbox subscriptions, Zune items, Windows Live Apps. PayPal offers an almost universal scope, and they’ve already allowed for a frictionless account. Kiva is an innovative microfinancing site, however it’s also an important checkpoint for a digital medium of exchange.
We are a different class of college students every Spring. Together we explore what it means to do business in a "Web 2.0" world. Technology, new businesses, cutting-edge trends, we cover them all! 
