This statistic shows the number of total active registered user accounts to online payment platform PayPal. In the fourth quarter of 2017, more than 227 million accounts were active worldwide.
PayPal
PayPal is a global online payment business allowing users to make payments and money transfers online. In 2002, PayPal was acquired by auction site eBay and has made great gains in visibility and online popularity since then. The service is often considered as the leader of the online and mobile payment market. Many retailers such as BestBuy and Home Depot and digital content sellers like Humble Bundle or Valve use PayPal as an in-store payment or digital wallet top-up method. Online payment providers usually generate revenue through transaction fees.
Recently, brick-and-mortar retailers and shops have also begun to accept PayPal as a mobile payment method. As of December 2016, 34 percent of North American retailers already accepted PayPal as a payment method and 21 percent planned to accept it within the next 12 months. Customers are required to use their NFC-enabled mobile device to make a payment or use a PayPal card, which can also be swiped or touched in at physical point-of-sale locations. In 2016, the service's annual mobile payment volume amounted to 102 billion US dollars, representing a 43 percent growth compared to the previous year.
The market for online payment providers was created through the ubiquity of online shopping and online retail opportunities. The advantages of wide-reaching global payment systems allow for easier online buying, especially when taking the growth of mobile commerce into account. Other digital wallet services include Google Wallet as well as US-based Square, Lemon Wallet and LevelUp. Traditional payment providers MasterCard and Visa also offer digital wallets.
