Valleywag
Another one of Yahoo's sprawling properties has gotten the axe: Come mid-September, Yahoo Bill Pay is shutting down. You didn't even know Yahoo let you pay your bills? Exactly. The service, notable when it launched for undercutting banks' online bill-payment fees, has become outmoded. Almost all banks now offer free Web bill payments. And Yahoo, spurred by gadfly executive Brad Garlinghouse's now-famous peanut butter memo, is trying to pare down its offerings to products where its vast user base actually gives it an advantage, like social media. Even so, while a smart business move, the shutdown is equally a sign of Yahoo's diminished ambitions. Barely able to manage itself, Yahoo can hardly be expected to manage your finances.
Why Yahoo won't pay your bills
Another one of Yahoo's sprawling properties has gotten the axe: Come mid-September, Yahoo Bill Pay is shutting down. You didn't even know Yahoo let you pay your bills? Exactly. The service, notable when it launched for undercutting banks' online bill-payment fees, has become outmoded. Almost all banks now offer free Web bill payments. And Yahoo, spurred by gadfly executive Brad Garlinghouse's now-famous peanut butter memo, is trying to pare down its offerings to products where its vast user base actually gives it an advantage, like social media. Even so, while a smart business move, the shutdown is equally a sign of Yahoo's diminished ambitions. Barely able to manage itself, Yahoo can hardly be expected to manage your finances.
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9:20 AM on Fri Jul 6 2007
By Owen Thomas
769 views
3 comments
Comments
Come on Owen - we both remember Yahoo Bill Pay - just like we remember the 9000 other bill paying services that launched in 1999.
@Jeremy: Right, but didn't Yahoo Bill Pay distinguish itself by, say, I don't know, oh, being good?
@Owen Thomas - yes, yes it was. But, so was Yodlee.
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