蘑菇AV

The news: PayPal and Venmo users can receive early access to Perplexity鈥檚 new browser, Comet, with a free 12-month trial of Perplexity Pro. Our take: Big Tech is betting that agentic commerce is the future of shopping, but consumers aren鈥檛 on board yet: Nearly 70% of US adults are not interested in AI-powered shopping assistants, per a September 2024 蘑菇AV and CivicScience survey. While jostling for future positioning in the market, PayPal, Venmo, and Perplexity need to convince consumers that agentic commerce is a desirable payment option, lest they repeat a metaverse investment flop.

The news: PayPal posted net revenue growth of 5% YoY at $8.3 billion due to strong performances of Venmo, its debit card, and Braintree, per its earnings report. Our take: PayPal is leaning into its branded experience and tech innovations to power its way through 2025.

The news: PayPal will enable Pay with Crypto in an attempt to streamline cross-border payments for US merchants through its intricate network of digital wallet and cryptocurrency integrations in the coming weeks. In the meantime, US consumers will have to break age-old payment habits: Only 8% of crypto owners who use cryptocurrency to purchase goods and services do so daily; most only use it up to four times a year. Building these consumer payment preferences will take time, so PayPal should remain patient.

The news: PayPal launched PayPal World, a global platform linking major international payment systems and digital wallets. Our take: While PayPal鈥檚 starting list of key partnerships represents Latin America, India, and China, the payment provider could penetrate further into European markets by tying up with the European Payments Initiative and the Wero wallet鈥攁s well as with top US wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay or the nascent Paze.

The news: PayPal rolled out a dynamic, AI-powered scam alert system to protect consumers against fraud for 鈥淔riends and Family鈥� transactions. Our take: Rolling out user-facing AI-powered fraud protection alerts increases PayPal鈥檚 visibility as a safe financial provider for more than just online checkout at well-known retailers.

The news: Mastercard has awarded WPP Media its $180 million media account after ending its relationship with Dentsu-owned Carat. Our take: WPP Media鈥檚 previous with PayPal may give insight into the type of media it might produce for Mastercard. As the creative firm behind the 鈥淰enmo Everything鈥� campaign and the Will Ferrell-fronted PayPal Pay Later campaign, Mastercard鈥檚 new promos likely will feature zeitgeisty and generationally buzzy celebrities to target younger demographics.

The news: PayPal users can get 20% cash back on their Taco Bell orders if they check out with PayPal or Venmo in-app or online, per a press release. Our take: For Taco Bell enthusiasts, 20% cash back every week may be too good of an offer to refuse.

The news: PayPal partnered with the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences to enable payments for participating student-athletes. Our take: Capitalizing on young, emerging student consumers is a strong opportunity to secure long-time and loyal PayPal and Venmo users.

The news: PayPal is launching storefront-style ads that allow users to buy products directly within display ads on publisher sites, using PayPal or Venmo without leaving the page. Debuting in the US with partners like Business Insider and Vox Media, the units will later expand to include carousels and listings. This move strengthens PayPal鈥檚 financial media network footprint after its 2023 Ads launch. Our take: As FMN spend is set to reach $1.78B by 2027, PayPal is embedding commerce where consumers already are. These shoppable ads address friction, drive impulse purchases, and position PayPal as a safeguard against rising AI-driven agentic commerce.

In the spirit of 鈥楶补测辫补濒 Everywhere, PayPal partnered with Selfbook to make booking travel easy in its app.

With account integration ending for Android wallets, PayPal sets its sights on keeping more users within its own ecosystem.

Centralized payment options and automating spend threshold One Credential can help to keep PayPal products top-of-wallet for Gen Z.

With seamless in-app purchases coming, PayPal could turn Perplexity into a trusted, AI-driven checkout hub鈥攅specially for younger, AI-hungry consumers.

A flurry of interest and an unexpected announcement from PayPal show where banks see the biggest value of their own stablecoins.

The campaign鈥檚 associated sweepstakes encourages users to pay more frequently with PayPal