PayPal has been around and growing in popularity since 1998. With well over 100 million users and more than 7 million businesses, it’s safe to say this payment giant knows what it’s doing. However, there’s been some questions recently as to whether or not the processor is keeping up with the times.
Why? While it’s one of the most trusted brands in ecommerce, its fastest growing demographic today is the 50-and-up category. Experts are referring to it as the “legacy solution” – it’s still ahead of its competitors, but beginning to show its age.
Unlike most credit card payment gateways, PayPal acts as a third party that connects directly with your bank accounts and credit cards. With ever-shifting trends and consumer needs, the processor has been forced to venture outside its core competency and compete for customer’s core banking services.
To complicate matters further, PayPal’s competitors – like Block (Square) and SoFi – now have U.S. banking licenses; this means they can now directly acquire deposits, lend money and issue cards. Meanwhile, Stripe is putting together meaningful services that address the needs of the small business market. Other partnerships have taken place like Fiserv and First Data that can bring …