Last week eBay Inc. State Government Relations staff spoke to members of the National Conference of State Legislatures during a panel conversation on Mobile Payments and Digital Currencies.  Other panel members included the CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association, a lawyer with Steptoe & Johnson, Policy Director for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and a researcher with the Cato Institute.  The panel each gave their own unique perspective on payments, mobile payments and the regulatory landscape for payments - both mobile and traditional.

Earlier this month, eBay Inc.’s Ali Gabel served as a panelist for the Electronic Transactions Association’s luncheon during its Capitol Hill Day. The event kicked off with remarks by Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R/WV-02), the chairman of the House Financial Service Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, a House subcommittee with jurisdiction over mobile issues.

Earlier this month, PayPal’s John Muller and Smitha Mortis Koppuzha and eBay Inc.’s Ali Gabel participated in CFA’s mobile payments dialogue in Washington, D.C. The focus of the event was how a shift from mag stripe to chip and pin technology could impact consumers’ dispute rights and what additional consumer protections, if any, are needed for mobile payments.

This post originally appeared on the eBay Inc. blog.

Television reporters from Bloomberg West visited eBay Inc. headquarters in San Jose, California this Monday for an in-depth look at our business.

The rise of digital trade has revolutionized the U.S. economy in recent years. According to the International Trade Commission, exports of digital goods and services increased from $282 billion in 2007 to $356 billion just four years later. Such growth creates new jobs in the United States and shrinks the nation's long-standing trade deficit by creating new market opportunities for innovative businesses.

Our global Govt. Relations team is always looking for opportunities to grow and learn, so we may better serve our Main Street community. On December 9^th eBay Inc.’s Government Relations team sponsored the inaugural Professional Women in Advocacy conference in Washington, DC. The conference focused on the idea that everyone can benefit from women’s perspective at the public policy table. The event was also a chance for members of the eBay Inc.

On Thursday, November 21st John Muller, eBay Inc.'s VP of Global Payments Policy, testified before the California Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance.  The hearing  on "The Technology of Consumer Financial Transactions" was called by Chairman Roger Dickinson to investigate various new payments technologies, mobile in particular, that are entering the market, as well as their impact on consumers.

This post was originally published on the eBay Inc. blog. 

eBay Inc. is drawing on its wealth of e-commerce data to play a global thought leadership role in a recent series of studies and public forums targeting international governments and industry leaders.

This week, eBay Inc. released a report titled, “Micro-Multinationals, Global Consumers and the World Trade Organisation” at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

The House of Representatives passed important patent reform legislation Thursday that will help protect small businesses from abusive patent trolls. Sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the Innovation Act (HR 3309) includes protections for small businesses that will shield them from expensive litigation and provide resources to properly respond to demand letters.