PayPal subsidiaries: companies owned by PYPL

Set up in 1998, PayPal went public in an IPO in 2002. In the same year, it was taken over by eBay, before being spun off as an independent company once again in 2014.

As a brand, PayPal is hugely well known — but there are also a pretty impressive range of companies which fall under the PayPal parent organization and operate independently.

This guide answers the question — what does PayPal own? — and as a bonus we’ll also introduce the Wise account as a cheaper way to send and receive money overseas.

Overview: PayPal subsidiaries list

Let’s start with an overview of the PayPal subsidiaries list. We’ll dive into each one later, looking at what they do, when PayPal acquired them, and what they paid.

Here’s the full list of all the companies owned by PayPal¹:

• PayPal Credit
• Swift Financial
• Braintree
• Venmo
• Xoom
• Zettle
• Simility
• Chargehound
• Happy Returns
• Honey
• Hyperwallet
• Paidy
  

What does PayPal own?

Let’s look in a little more detail at what subsidiaries sit under the PayPal umbrella.

PayPal Credit

PayPal Credit was acquired by PayPal as Bill Me later in 2008. It was a buy now, pay later service which lets people shop and split the bill into several payments for more flexibility.

Over time, further credit options have been added as the company has developed under the PayPal banner.

PayPal Credit² — formerly Bill Me later
What type of business is it?	Buy now, pay later services
How much did PayPal pay?	820 million USD in cash, 125 million USD in options
When was it acquired?	2008

Swift Financial

Swift financial offers business loans and funding solutions, and was acquired by PayPal to allow the expansion of the PayPal Working Capital offer.

Swift can offer business loans of up to 500,000 USD.

Swift Financial³
What type of business is it?	Business funding solutions
How much did PayPal pay?	Reputed to have paid 183 million USD
When was it acquired?	2017

Braintree

Braintree offers payment solutions which let merchants take payment through PayPal, Venmo, cards and digital wallets.

Braintree’s payment technology makes it easy for customers to pay in a range of ways, online and on mobile sites for example.

It’s a full-stack payments platform which means merchants don’t need to involve a separate payments gateway to accept funds.

Braintree⁴
What type of business is it?	Payment solutions
How much did PayPal pay?	800 million USD (joint purchase with Venmo)
When was it acquired?	2013

Venmo

At the same time as PayPal acquired Braintree it also bought Venmo. Famous for offering instant peer to peer payments from mobile phones, Venmo also now offers merchant payment services within the US.

Venmo is known for offering a social side to splitting bills or paying friends, with the option to add messages and emojis when you pay. It’s currently only available in the US.

Venmo⁵
What type of business is it?	Peer to peer and merchant payments
How much did PayPal pay?	800 million USD (joint purchase with Braintree)
When was it acquired?	2013

Xoom

Xoom offers international transfers which can be sent around the world, to bank accounts or for cash collection through an agent network. In some countries you can even have cash delivered to your recipient’s door.

Xoom’s ability to send payments for cash collection makes this an attractive service for people who need to get money to someone without access to a bank account, supplementing PayPal’s other peer to peer payment services.

Xoom⁶
What type of business is it?	International transfers
How much did PayPal pay?	890 million USD
When was it acquired?	2015

Zettle

Zettle — which was previously called iZettle — offers payment solutions for ecommerce and physical sellers across a range of European countries.

Besides helping integrate payment solutions to websites, you can also get a full payment terminal or bank card machine to accept physical payments. This was PayPal’s highest value acquisition at the time it was completed.

Zettle⁷
What type of business is it?	Payment solutions
How much did PayPal pay?	2.2 billion USD
When was it acquired?	2018

Simility

Simility services include merchant solutions to stop fraud while giving good customers a better experience when shopping online. There are also solutions for financial service organizations looking to detect and reduce fraud.

As a giant in ecommerce and online transactions, it makes sense for PayPal to take an interest in a company offering products to make ecommerce safer — building the capabilities of both PayPal and Simility at the same time.

Simility⁸
What type of business is it?	Fraud prevention
How much did PayPal pay?	120 million USD
When was it acquired?	2018

Chargehound

Chargehound lets merchants reduce chargeback fraud by automating online dispute processes. Services are mainly automated but more complex cases can be reviewed manually, which allows companies to save time on straightforward disputes while resolving more complex ones with a human touch.

PayPal’s decision here reflects the fact that ecommerce sales are continuing to grow, but merchants need to protect their margins to remain competitive — something reducing fraud can help with.

Chargehound⁹
What type of business is it?	Dispute automation and fraud prevention
How much did PayPal pay?	Undisclosed
When was it acquired?	2021

Happy Returns

Happy Returns offers an easy return process for customers shopping online which can also save companies money. Customers can take unwanted items to a network of Return Bars — physical locations where returns are aggregated and passed back to merchants.

PayPal merchants can offer Happy Returns as a return option for free, allowing them to compete against large ecommerce sites which offer their own physical return points.

Happy Returns¹⁰
What type of business is it?	Returns service
How much did PayPal pay?	Undisclosed
When was it acquired?	2021

Honey

Honey is an online service which you can use to automatically detect coupons and discounts when you shop online. There’s also a Honey loyalty card which lets you earn gift cards to spend later.

At the time of the purchase, PayPal explained that it was intended to improve the customer experience for people shopping online, and also improve conversions for merchants.

Honey¹¹
What type of business is it?	Cashback and discount service
How much did PayPal pay?	Approximately 4 billion USD
When was it acquired?	2020

Hyperwallet

Hyperwallet offers mass payment solutions for businesses big and small, which let business owners save time on administration. Services can be used for payroll, sending funds to freelancers or claimants and more.

This transaction was part of PayPal’s push to provide an integrated suite of payment solutions to ecommerce platforms and marketplaces around the world.

Hyperwallet¹²
What type of business is it?	Mass payment solutions
How much did PayPal pay?	Approximately 400 million USD
When was it acquired?	2018

Paidy

Paidy is a two-sided payment and buy now, pay later service operating in Japan. PayPal acquired Paidy in 2021 to expand its capabilities as the global pandemic created more demand for online payment solutions.

At the time of the acquisition PayPal said the purchase would strengthen its position in Japan — the 3rd largest ecommerce market in the world.

Paidy¹³
What type of business is it?	Buy now, pay later
How much did PayPal pay?	2.7 billion USD
When was it acquired?	2021

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Send, receive and spend money overseas with Wise

PayPal — and the PayPal subsidiaries within the group — offer a broad range of payment and ecommerce solutions. But they’re not necessarily the best bet when you shop or send money internationally.

For a better way to send payments overseas check out Wise — and for smart ways to shop online with international ecommerce sites, take a look at the Wise multi-currency account.

Wise is a specialist in currency conversion and online payments, using the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees. That means you can save compared to your bank when you use Wise — and, perhaps, more when using other popular money transfer providers.

Open your Wise account online or in the Wise app for free and get started sending and spending overseas for less, today.

Create a free Wise
account in minutes 🚀

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Common questions about PayPal and its subsidiaries

To finish up, let’s take a look at some common questions about PayPal’s subsidiary companies.

What’s PayPal's parent organization?

PayPal is an independent company, although it was for a time part of the eBay group.

Who owns PayPal now?

Today, PayPal is independent and floated on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

What's the PYPL IPO date?

PayPal initially went through IPO in 2002 — now, PayPal is publicly floated and listed as PYPL.

Does PayPal own Square?

PayPal does not own Square.

Does PayPal own Cash App?

PayPal does not own Cash App.

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So there you have it — a full walk through all the companies in the PayPal parent group. Unsurprisingly, PayPal is a huge organization with an impressive range of services offered between its network of subsidiaries.

But if you’re looking for international transfers and ways to manage your money across currencies, don’t forget to check out the Wise account for lower overall costs and a better exchange rate.

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Sources:

1. PayPal family of brands
2. PayPal credit
3. Swift Financial
4. Braintree
5. Venmo
6. Xoom
7. Zettle
8. Simility
9. Chargehound
10. Happy Returns
11. Honey
12. Hyperwallet
13. Paidy

Sources checked on 07.25.2022