With more than 200 million active users and over $9 billion in payments, PayPal has come a long way since its launch back in 1998. Over the course of 22 years, the company’s path was full of ebbs, flows, and tipping points — which is why we bring you some of the most interesting PayPal statistics.
These stats will answer all your burning questions regarding this internet mogul. Likewise, they will reveal some rather intriguing facts as well, such as the total PayPal customer number, its annual revenue, and more.
So, if you want to discover everything there is to know about this incredible company and how shopping with PayPal has revolutionized the world of digital payment, keep on reading.
Top 10 Most Interesting PayPal Facts:
- Within the first three years of launching, the company had 10.2 million users.
- PayPal currently has 22 million merchant accounts.
- In late 2019, PayPal had 450 million mobile users in India.
- 70 million people used PayPal’s One Touch payments in 2017.
- There were 36.9 transactions per active user account in 2019.
- PayPal’s annual payment volume for 2018 was $578 billion.
- PayPal ARPU was close to $15 per account in 2017.
- The company had 12.4 billion payment transactions in 2019.
- PayPal’s market value grew to $49 billion just a day after splitting from eBay in 2015.
- In 2013, PayPal accidentally credited one man’s account with more than $92 quadrillion.
Let’s dive right in to some of the most remarkable online facts and stats about the PayPal money market as of today.
PayPal Popularity — An Overview
1. Within the first three years of launching, the company had 10.2 million users.
(The Street)
PayPal founders wanted people to give them their emails, banking and credit card information, and in return, the company would give them fast and low-cost payments.
Soon, PayPal would become a staple in personal finances, and their user base counted millions, with 2.6 million commercial accounts, and $3 billion in payments.
2. PayPal users in 2019 grew by 14% that year alone.
(PayPal)
Digital payments are slowly but surely replacing credit cards, and PayPal’s growing popularity has proved just that.
The company’s Q4 report for 2019 shows that they have acquired 37.3 million new active accounts, growing their user base to more than 300 million active accounts.
3. PayPal currently has 22 million merchant accounts.
(Merchant Maverick)
PayPal has made business so much easier for merchants.
According to recent PayPal business account statistics, millions of merchants appreciate that:
- PayPal doesn’t charge monthly fees,
- They’re not bound by a contract, and
- They have an abundance of tools for bringing virtual PayPal shopping closer to their customers.
4. In late 2019, PayPal had 450 million mobile users in India.
(Financial Times)
Ever since PayPal became available for merchants in India to process both local and global payments in November 2017, the total number of PayPal users in India has grown rapidly.
In addition, the company employed some 3,500 people in India alone and plans on hiring at least 1,200 more.
5. 70 million people used PayPal’s One Touch payments in 2017.
(Medianama)
An additional 6 million merchants also recognized One Touch as a payment option. This type of payment allows users to stay logged in for longer and make a PayPal transaction much faster.
6. PayPal statistics reveal that this was the most popular digital wallet in the US in 2018.
(Statista)
Statistics show that the PayPal payment app took first place with 76% among online users.
Amazon Payments, VisaCheckout, Google Wallet, and Apple Pay were in the top 5 digital wallets with 24%, 15%, 14%, and 12%, respectively.
7. There were 36.9 transactions per active user account in 2019.
(Nasdaq)
According to the PayPal data, the company’s user base is not only continuously growing, but it’s also becoming more engaged. The number of transactions per active account grew by 9% in a single year, as have the person to person payments — 46% over the same period.
In addition, the increase in mobile engagement contributed about $67 million, which was a 40% increase year over year.
8. PayPal vs. Venmo user statistics reveal that Venmo had 40 million users by the end of Q1 2019.
(CNBC)
Venmo’s total payments volume grew by 73% over the years, hitting $21 in Q1 2019, greatly exceeding PayPal’s expectations.
For comparison, PayPal had 227 million customer accounts, including approximately 22 million merchant accounts, over the same period.
Originally, Braintree bought Venmo for $26 million, and later PayPal bought Braintree acquiring the popular payment app for themselves.
How Huge Is PayPal Revenue?
9. PayPal had an 18% FX revenue growth in Q4 2019.
(PayPal)
The company’s overall revenue grew by 17% and 18% (on a spot and FX-neutral basis, respectively (to a staggering $4.96 billion during the same quarter).
What’s more, the total annual revenue grew by 15%, totaling $17.77 billion. Likewise, the company repurchased close to 14 million shares of common stock, returning $1.4 billion to stockholders.
10. $578 billion was the annual payment volume of PayPal for 2018.
(Statista)
The PayPal transaction volume for 2018 mobile payments also rose to $227 million.
Compared to previous years, the annual transaction volume has been consistently growing, from $150.07 billion in 2012 to $712 billion in 2019.
11. The company made 12.4 billion payment transactions in 2019.
(PayPal)
Paypal’s number of annual payment transactions grew by an astounding 25% the previous year. Additionally, their Merchant Services volume also grew by 27% on a spot basis and 29% on an FX-neutral basis.
12. PayPal ARPU was close to $15 per account in 2017.
(Market Realist)
As of now, the company doesn’t break down its revenue per user, yet some financial specialists have calculated the average revenue per user based on PayPal’s data from 2017.
The company had a revenue of over $3.1 billion in Q2 2017. They also had 10 million active accounts during the same quarter, which means, on average, each account brought in $14.93 in revenue.
PayPal Market Share Stats and Figures
13. PayPal’s market value grew to $49 billion just a day after splitting from eBay in 2015.
(Martech Zone)
Furthermore, the company’s revenue and transaction value grew by 16% and 20%, respectively, after the split.
In addition, PayPal’s shares grew by 5.4% and reached $40.47, whereas eBay’s shares grew by merely 2.4% during the same quarter.
14. PayPal’s stock market price was $108 back in August 2019.
(The Street)
If we take a closer look at the PayPal timeline, the company has more than doubled its share price compared to 2014, when the share price was only $53.
What’s more, as the PayPal report states, the share price from August 2019 was also significantly higher than that from 2018, when the stock market share price was just $85.
15. It’s estimated that the company’s earnings per diluted share will be in the $1.84–$1.95 range.
(PRN)
In 2019, both GAAP and non-GAAP PayPal earnings per diluted share included close to $0.14 of net unrealized gains from the strategic investment portfolio of the company.
It’s also estimated that the non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for 2020 will be in the $3.39–$3.46 range, with the range of $0.76–$0.78 for Q1 2020.
16. The company’s net income in 2019 was 39 cents per share.
(MarketWatch)
The PayPal market share in 2019 was slightly more successful than the one from the year before when the company’s income per share was just 36 cents.
After adjustments in the stock-based compensation, and other expenses, those earnings grew to 58 cents per share in 2018, and 61 cents per share in 2019.
17. PayPal’s market share in 2017 was a whopping 83.02%.
(Martech Zone)
The company’s stock price reached $5.09 billion and its market capital hit $51.7 billion. Likewise, PayPal’s average revenue for the same year was $10 billion, and at that point, the company had a 10% YOY growth.
PayPal Fast Facts You Need to Know
18. In 2013, PayPal accidentally credited one man’s account with more than $92 quadrillion.
(CNN Business)
Back in 2013, a Pennsylvania PR executive received, by error, $92,233,720,368,547,800.
However, PayPal quickly corrected their mistake, offering the account’s owner to donate an unspecified amount of money to a cause of their choice.
19. During their early years, PayPal gave new customers $10 for joining their platform.
(Business Insider)
One of the most entertaining PayPal facts is the way in which the company got so many users so rapidly after its launch.
The secret? Giving away money to earn money!
Not only did PayPal give $10 to each new user, but they also gave those users $10 more every time they referred someone.
20. PayPal shares user data with more than 600 companies.
(The Telegraph)
In 2018, the company revealed it shared personal data as a part of its transparency drive.
PayPal statistics show that there’s a scale upon which companies get their hands on this valuable data, with more than 200 companies acquiring detailed personal information such as the user’s full name and gender, primarily for marketing and PR purposes.
21. PayPal supports 26 currencies.
(Sharetribe) (Craft.co)
You could use anything from the US Dollar, the British Pound Sterling, the Euro, and the Russian Ruble to the Czech Koruna, the Swiss Franc, and the Japanese Yen.
What’s more, as a truly international company, PayPal also has 47 offices across 27 countries.
22. Does PayPal report to the IRS? Yes, if the conditions are met.
(PayPal)
In the case that there are sellers that receive over $20,000 in gross payments (or receive more than 200 distinct payments over the course of a single year), the company must, in fact, report these to the IRA.
FAQs
Who invented PayPal?
(The Street)
PayPal was founded by technology entrepreneurs Peter Thiel and Max Levchin in 1998, in Mountain View, California, under the name Confinity.
Two years later, the company changed its name to PayPal, after the founders decided to focus primarily on internet payments.
How does PayPal make a profit?
(FourWeekMBA)
The company earns money by simply processing the customers’ transactions. PayPal charges its customers fees based on the sum of their transaction, and it also makes money from other value-added services.
How many transactions does PayPal use per year?
(Statista)
From 2012 to 2019, the number of payment transactions has been constantly growing, and it grew from 2.66 (in 2012) to 12.4 (in 2019), which represents a 25% year-on-year growth.
How much does PayPal make per day?
(PRN)
Roughly $12 million if you do the math!
How many transactions does PayPal process per day? Data from 2019 shows that PayPal handled a whopping 3.1 billion payment transactions, processing some $179 billion, and earning $4.38 billion in the process.
How many PayPal users are there in the world?
(Statista)
In Q4 2019 there were 305 million active PayPal accounts worldwide. Compared to 2010, when the company had merely 84.3 million users, the 2019 data shows a 14% year-on-year growth.
Which country uses PayPal the most?
(Martech Zone)
The majority of PayPal’s users come from the US (43.86%).
Honorable mentions include Germany, the UK, France, and Australia comprising 17.61%, 14.39%, 5.32%, and 4.62% of the total number of users, respectively.
The Bottom Line
Despite its rivals, all of the ups and downs during its long reign on the electronic payment market, PayPal statistics indicate that this financial giant is not going to slow down any time soon. With remote and freelance workers, merchants, and professionals using PayPal’s services on a daily basis, the company will surely be there to support us for years to come.
