PayPal VP Jumps Ship To Square

Almost immediately after PayPal became a legitimate competitor to mobile payment innovator Square, one of the company's vice presidents decided she would rather work for the new up-and-comer. Square's dominance in the market of expanding the way people pay with their phones is going to be put to the test, and it needs someone to guide the company in the right direction.

Namely, Alyssa Cutright, formerly PayPal's VP of products for North America, will become Square's global VP. The news comes right after PayPal launched its PayPal here platform, allowing any small business or even an individual person to accept credit card payments in person, with virtually no overhead. It's the latest in what has been a whirlwind of mobile product innovations for PayPal in just the last couple months.

As for concerns about whether or not Cutright will be taking trade secrets to her new employer, "Although Alyssa held a product role with PayPal, she was not involved in the creation or launch of PayPal Here," according to a PayPal spokesperson quoted by VentureBeat. Square is a one-trick pony right now, and what it needs to do is spread its wings. The mobile payment space now encompasses contactless smartphone payments, app-integrated retail and restaurant point-of-sale systems, and alternative payment account log-ins at the store register. Just offering one platform isn't enough anymore.

[via VentureBeat]