By
Bhushan Akolkar
April 23rd, 2024
PayPal CEO Alex Chriss revealed that the company will tap into the vast data collected from customers and merchants to teach its AI for the mutual benefit of all parties.
The past two years have been a bloodbath for PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) stock amid heightened competition from the fast-growing neo-banks and web3 platforms that leverage the power of blockchain technology and digital assets. According to the latest stock market data, PYPL stock dropped around 80 percent to trade at about $61.78 on Monday, since hitting its all-time high (ATH) of around $305 in June 2021.
The company has, however, been working to reimagine its services to obtain a competitive advantage that is quintessential for future growth prospects. Among the notable changes include the crypto wallet that supports several digital assets like Bitcoin, and Ethereum. Additionally, the company recently launched its stablecoin dubbed PayPal USD (PYUSD), which has a market cap of around $301 million and an average 24-hour trading volume of about $12 million.
PayPal Unveils AI-Powered Products
In a bid to keep the nearly 400 million customers and 35 million merchant accounts engaged at a personalized level, PayPal recently announced the launch of six innovative products that tap into artificial intelligence (AI). According to the company, the vast collected data on customers’ payment behavior with different merchants will play a crucial role in teaching its AI models the best recommendations. Notably, the company is betting on its 25-year history of providing global customers with payment services through different currencies.
“PayPal is on a mission to revolutionize commerce, globally, and today we are starting the next chapter. With nearly 400 million consumer accounts, and 35 million merchant accounts, PayPal handles transactions for about a quarter of the world’s e-commerce transactions each year, but more importantly, shoppers trust PayPal to power their payments,” PayPal CEO Alex Chriss noted.
Some of the notable products include Fastlane, Smart Receipts, and PayPal Advanced Offers, among others. Notably, the company has been piloting the Fastlane with a group of merchants led by BigCommerce, a leading open software-as-a-service (SaaS) e-commerce platform.
See all the innovations revealed in PayPal’s First Look showcase and discover what’s in store for PayPal and Venmo this year. https://t.co/12ZbXct9zr #PayPalFirstLook pic.twitter.com/he7QeEvJ2X
— PayPal (@PayPal) January 25, 2024
Similarly, PayPal is also reinventing Venmo services in a bid to offer the 90 million active accounts an affordable and easy way of doing business. Notably, the company expects to roll out all the new products in the coming quarters through the end of 2024, beginning with the United States.
Bigger Picture
The newly launched products that leverage the power of AI are a double-edged sword that could either propel PayPal to new heights or bring it to its knees in the coming years. Moreover, PayPal could be held accountable by different jurisdictions for using its data to its advantage without proper financial compensation. Nevertheless, the company is well-positioned to compete with other fast-growing payment companies including the Elon Musk-backed X platform, which recently announced X Payments.