Maybe what they could do in its place is a points-based rewards program for anything paid through an eBay credit card or through PayPal if funded from a bank account. In other words, try to move traffic through places where eBay gets a % of sales and doesn't have to pass it on to a third party.

Ebay sellers, for example, have no incentive to do checking-account debits to pay fees vs. putting them on a rewards card. Buyers also don't have a real incentive not to use credit cards on PayPal beyond the "Don't add to debt" bit.

Realistically, though, eBay is likely just to plod along in this area until and unless it has serious head-to-head competition. The "competition" now is indirect and inadequate, and eBay's fees and recent rounds of increases reflect that. Google might pose some challenge to PayPal, but it'll take a company with deep pockets and lots of programming talent to seriously challenge eBay. Microsoft would be nice.