[mcv]

PayPal is long past the startup phase, though. They're a very well established player, and as such they have power they can leverage. A lot of people feel bound to use PayPal despite disliking the way they operate. That by itself is a sign of the market not doing what it's supposed to do in the ideal case.

Markets certainly don't always automatically fix itself. They require oversight and regulation, or else they tend to result in cartels and monopolies. The free market is great when it works well, but quite often it needs a bit of help.