Raynor de Best
Content expert covering payments and (crypto)currencies
PayPal - statistics & facts
PayPal's company figures for Q4 2023 reveal yet another growth slowdown for the digital payment provider. PayPal users - as tracked by the number of active registered accounts - declined for the third time in a row, with year-on-year user growth now reaching below zero. By the end of the quarter, the fintech had 426 million users, a decrease of two million users - a quarter-on-quarter decline of 0.5 percent. PayPal's revenue did increase compared to Q3 2023, with the growth rate picking up slightly. The company's Total Payment Volume or TPV - which reveals the value of all transactions processed - did continue to improve, reaching 409 billion U.S. dollars. Despite these two positive operational figures, investors responded negatively in Q4 2023. They especially voiced concerns about PayPal's prospect of declining profitability. That raises questions about PayPal's business model.
PayPal is widely considered one of the largest payment fintech worldwide, but the company faced increasing investor criticism in 2023. Where is PayPal used the most in 2024, and who is most likely to use the payment method? Indeed, is there a future for PayPal?
PayPal is widely considered one of the largest payment fintech worldwide, but the company faced increasing investor criticism in 2023. Where is PayPal used the most in 2024, and who is most likely to use the payment method? Indeed, is there a future for PayPal?
Popular outside its native country
PayPal adoption in December 2023 was high in countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Austria, according to Statista's Consumer Insights. The number and share of merchants who offer PayPal as a payment option on their e-commerce websites reinforce this observation further: Nearly 35 percent of all German domains had a PayPal plug-in rather than eight percent of all U.S. web domains. The difference likely stems from the different payment brands available in the United States, as domestic brands Venmo and Zelle compete for user attention against PayPal. For Europe, PayPal generally takes up two positions: On the one hand, it is a country's main online payment method available due to the lack of a local alternative - like in Germany. On the other hand, PayPal may compete against a locally developed option that rolled out nationwide before PayPal arrived - like iDEAL in the Netherlands.PayPal's uncertainty going into 2024
PayPal's recent financial performances led to a decline in the fintech's stock in 2023. Interestingly, PayPal overachieved in Q4 2023, beating several market predictions. It was the prediction of newly CEO Alex Chriss that profit would likely not grow as much in 2024 that overshadowed the earnings. The new full-year profit forecast for 2024 reflected adjustments of about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, including a restructuring of 120 million U.S. dollars. Partially this uncertainty comes from tighter margins - for instance, due to United States inflation. Some, however, hope there is still room to grow for e-commerce shopping within overall retail sales in the U.S. That said, analysts observed PayPal hit a "reset button" as it looked into the new year.
