The creation of the super wallet app has just taken a decisive step. PayPal’s ambition in its vision is to be more than just a payment button for consumers, but rather a place where useful apps, like WeChat, including a whole range of crypto services, are concentrated.
A super PayPal to become a must-have
The coding for PayPal’s super app wallet is complete. The company’s CEO, Dan Schulman, announced the news on July 28, 2021, during the conference call with investors regarding the results of the 2nd quarter of 2021. According to him, the company estimates that the portfolio will be operational in the United States in the next few months.
Its users will benefit from high-yield savings and messaging features, early access to direct deposit funds, and “additional crypto capabilities,” among others. Schulman said each portfolio would be “unique, driven by advanced AI and machine learning capabilities.”
The idea for a super app reportedly popped into Schulman’s mind three years ago during a dinner at his home in Palo Alto, San Francisco, with Martin Lau, the chairman of Tencent Holdings Ltd, the parent company of WeChat. Schulman wanted to integrate the apps that are actually used every day into this super app.
His vision is to make PayPal more than a payment button for consumers, and turn it into a one-stop shop for shopping and finance. PayPal wants to follow in the footsteps of WeChat, which has taken up this challenge for the Chinese market.
The super challenge of cryptocurrencies
Schulman said in an interview, however, that “it’s hard to become a super app,” while being aware that this is a positioning that many companies want to occupy.
With its potential to attract more users and engage existing ones even more, PayPal’s super app can only benefit cryptocurrency adoption. The company recently raised the weekly cap on the amount of cryptocurrencies its U.S.-resident users can purchase to $100,000.
Venmo, the PayPal-owned payment company that launched cryptocurrency trading in April 2021, recorded about $58 billion in payments for Q2 2021, with 76 million active accounts.
In addition to its super wallet app project, PayPal is also reportedly looking into the possibility of launching its own stablecoin. Schulman is also looking closely at Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Will their launch divert PayPal’s interest in cryptocurrencies to MNBCs in the long run?
