Rick Watson’s Post

I have a love / hate relationship with PayPal. They are the OG digital payment vendor built by some of the best technology leaders we have seen. The problem is it hasn't evolved for years (decades). I find the way they do their statements to be very annoying. Their support is painful. Configuration is always a bit of a struggle. And don't even get me started with Venmo (also owned by PayPal). All that said, they have a new CEO (from Intuit) and he's doing some interesting things. This ad network they are working on could be really intriguing. Every ecommerce seller is looking for the next best way to acquire customers. Could the PayPal ad network be it? We'll see. #ecommerce #accounting #paypal https://lnkd.in/gHjztgEV

I watched PayPal’s ~20-minute “vision” and summarized it, so here is my take on their FIVE new “innovations”: 1️⃣ Faster checkouts. PayPal shipped PassKey, which in my opinion every consumer product should do this year – we’re all sick of passwords! Guest checkouts (with email only) - cool feature, but Stripe and Shopify had this for years. 2️⃣ More spam, in your inbox. Now ads (they call it “personalized recommendations”) will appear in your PayPal receipts. They claim that the open rate for PP receipts is 40%! I guess with ads it will quickly go down. I will personally start sending those directly to spam. 3️⃣ Offers Platform, PayPal will sell you prurchasing data to merchants and target you with ads. 4️⃣ Refreshed PayPal App – more offers, more discounts, more cash back. Looks like trying to catch up with the Shop.app. Is what the $4b spent on Honey turned into? 5️⃣ Venmo Business Profiles. More marketing tools for businesses - push more ads to consumers. PayPal's #stock closed with a 1% increase, indicating investor optimism. However, the company's value is still 80% below its peak market value in 2021. It seems like the company is transitioning from a fintech into what most consumer companies end up becoming - an #advertising company. Full video - https://lnkd.in/gxv4QZxA

The reception to PayPal's "world shocking" announcement was pretty lukewarm and the stock dipped quite a bit sadly. Most changes announced today were perceived as incremental improvements vs revolutionary changes. It's perfectly fine to take these bets, just that the exec team failed to set the right expectations with the market. But let that not distract you from the fact that while these bets may not be truly revolutionary, there is still strong individual merit in them. 1. Two out of 6 features announced today are optimizing the checkout experience through 1. biometrics and 2. quicker guest email verification. The scale at which PayPal operates makes even marginal improvements high impact at volume. Note that these are all good ideas and have proven to work well in the market by other players. 2. The next 3 leverage data for targeted offers (relevant ads on receipts, insights to SMBs, smarter offers on app) - again if these work well, they can have a strong compounding effect to PayPal's core growth loops (relevant ads - higher conversion - faster checkout - more purchases - more order data - more relevant ads). There needs to be a constant focus on tweaking the links in this growth loop and making it perform + compound better and better. -The last one - Venmo expanding the business features profile (launched in 2021) looks interesting. There's still a lot more to be done here but the steady focus on community, local discovery, hyperlocal offers and consumer subscriptions could help small businesses with discovery and engagement. The worst case is this might end up in yet another expensive ad platform for SMBs, but the best case here is more consumer engagement and higher transaction volume (which fills their coffers via transaction revenue and dissuades them from pursuing this as an ad platform) Both Venmo and PayPal have a strong product / research culture and I am hopeful these bets will work out as intended for them. Just wish that today's expensive PR lesson shouldn't be a knock on them and they continue improving the quality + outcomes of the small yet core improvements they just rolled out. #paypal #venmo

PayPal is developing an ad sales business using user data from purchases and spending patterns. Mark Grether, former head of Uber's ad business, will lead the new PayPal Ads division. The company plans to sell ads to both its own customers and non-endemic advertisers. This effort follows the launch of Advanced Offers, an AI-powered ad product that charges advertisers only when consumers make a purchase. Both eBay and Zazzle have begun testing Advanced Offers, according to PayPal. The announcement follows in the footsteps of rival activity within the advertising space, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. last month introducing Chase Media Solutions, which will let advertisers target Chase customers with discounts and deals. According to a recent filing, PayPal processed 6.5B payments from roughly 400M customers in Q1, with total payment volumes jumping 14% to $403.9B. Source: https://lnkd.in/eabRX3Jc To learn more about how Transaction Insights can help you find signals through the noise and stay up to date with the latest developments in your industry, follow the links below 👇 🔗 TransactionInsights.com hashtag #Payments #Banks #Banking #Finance #Fintech #Merchants #Ecommerce #Business #BNPL #Economy #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Ads #Advertising #PayPal

Will convenience trump privacy for PayPal users? PayPal is stepping out from behind transactions and into the bustling world of targeted advertising. By tracking every purchase and payment, PayPal can offer hyper-targeted ads that are a marketer’s dream. PayPal ensures ads are seamlessly integrated and valuable to both businesses and consumers, but this bold move is a gamble. Will consumers trade their data for a frictionless shopping experience? PayPal’s success hinges on finding that delicate balance. Read on for how PayPal could reshape the digital finance landscape>> https://lnkd.in/gY3aXqKc #RetailMedia #DigitalAds #ECommerce

PayPal's Partnership Power Play: How They Achieved Explosive Growth Identifying the Opportunity (August 2000) PayPal recognized eBay's rising popularity and the need for a secure online payment solution. They saw an opportunity to provide value to eBay users and become an integral part of the online marketplace ecosystem. Strategic Approach (September 2000) PayPal initiated discussions with eBay to explore a potential partnership. They strategically positioned themselves as the go-to payment solution, emphasizing security, convenience, and user experience. Integration Planning (October 2000) Both companies collaborated on integrating PayPal as a payment option within the eBay platform. This seamless integration aimed to enhance the overall user experience for buyers and sellers. Launch and Rollout (February 2001) PayPal's integration with eBay went live, offering users a seamless and secure payment method. Sellers could now easily receive payments, and buyers felt more confident making transactions. User Adoption Surges (March 2001) The user adoption rate exceeded expectations as eBay's vast user base embraced PayPal as their preferred payment method. The convenience and trustworthiness of PayPal led to rapid adoption. Win-Win Promotion (May 2001) PayPal and eBay launched a joint promotional campaign, offering incentives such as discounts and cashback to users who used PayPal for transactions. This further encouraged adoption and solidified the partnership. Milestone Achievement (July 2001) Within just a few months of the partnership, PayPal had become the dominant payment solution on eBay. A significant percentage of eBay transactions were now being conducted through PayPal. Exponential Growth (December 2001) The partnership's success propelled PayPal's user acquisition to unprecedented heights. By the end of the year, PayPal's user base had grown by over 300%, largely driven by the seamless integration and user trust established through their partnership with eBay. Outcome: PayPal's strategic partnership with eBay proved to be a game-changer. Their seamless payment solution became synonymous with online transactions on eBay, rapidly gaining the trust and adoption of users. The partnership not only solidified PayPal's position as a leading payment provider but also led to an extraordinary 300% growth in their user base within a year. This partnership-driven growth laid the foundation for PayPal's global success and dominance in the online payment industry. 💰🌐 #PartnershipPowerPlay #PayPalSuccessStory #UserAcquisitionMastery

Have we reached a point where established payment companies can't innovate anymore in their sector? I know that the data is the 21st century oil, but really? 😤 In case you've missed it, PayPal announced yesterday that...well, as the WSJ article title states "PayPal Is Planning an Ad Business Using Data on Its Millions of Shoppers" "The digital payments company plans to build an ad sales business around the reams of data it generates from tracking the purchases as well as the broader spending behaviors of millions of consumers who use its services, which include the more socially-enabled Venmo app." I am all up for payment innovation, and PayPal is an important company in industry history, no doubt about it. But all this pressure for more revenue that PayPal investors are asking for is leading to this kind of "innovation". Now, PayPal in its portfolio has so many companies that additional revenue can be achieved by making their products better. Of course, this approach requires work, and I guess giving away the data on your customers is a much easier thing to do 👧 More info here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eu42hdXg

We recently witnessed PayPal's move to leverage its data for a new advertising platform, opening up a new revenue stream. Meanwhile, Klarma successfully launched a premium version with a $7.99 monthly subscription, attracting an impressive 100k users in the USA within six months. This subscription model offers perks like waived service fees, exclusive discounts, and rewards. Users have benefited already, saving an average of $18 in the first month. The question is how much more they bought in the first month because of the premium Klarma offering. Who do you think chose the best way to generate additional revenue stream?

WOW, PayPal (PYPL) is another blue-chip entering the digital ad business, leveraging half a trillion dollars of transaction data to generate customer insights generated by nearly 400 million active accounts. Sharing my POV and key points to keep an eye on: 1. Expanding the 1st party data/advertising landscape: As #RetailMedia continues to thrive, we're seeing more companies enter the crowded market. Recently Expedia (travel), now PayPal's move sets an example for non-traditional media businesses looking to leverage their #platforms and #data for advertising. 2. (Not sure if there's a term for this yet) Is #FinanceMedia the new trend? The investments by PayPal and JPMorgan in their recently launched media solutions business echo each other, carving out competitive growth in the digital ad/programmatic/transactional data space. Is this a glimpse of the future? 3. Navigating regulatory landscapes: Full compliance with #dataprivacy regulations (like GDPR & CCPA) is non-negotiable. As companies venture into ad businesses, securing valid, ethical, and transparent customer consent is paramount. Done right, targeted ads can be a win-win. 4. Striking a balance: Diving into digital ads offers PayPal a promising revenue stream but balancing this with customer experience remains essential. A thoughtful shift into data & ads can yield significant returns for companies while improving user experiences and offering more personalized/attractive deals. Post retail media, could finance media be the next big industry development? Much to look forward to! https://lnkd.in/gcAxiHgT

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