EP 20 - Fintech Frontier - PayPal: The Future of the Digital Wallet

PayPal between branded checkout, unbranded PSP (Braintree) and stablecoin PYUSD: how one of the oldest giants in digital payments is trying to reinvent itself in the era of the unified wallet, decentralized finance, and competition from Stripe, Adyen and Apple Pay.

The numbers are impressive: 2024 TPV of $1.68 trillion, 2024 revenues of $31.8 billion, 438 million active accounts at Q2 2025, $6 billion in buybacks over the last 12 months. But markets look for growth, and PayPal grows more slowly than its more agile competitors.

In this episode we analyze the strategy of Alex Chriss, CEO since 2023, who has focused PayPal on three moves: Fastlane (frictionless guest checkout via passkeys), resumption of branded checkout with better conversion, and repositioning Braintree as unbranded payment infrastructure for large merchants. We also discuss PYUSD — the stablecoin launched in partnership with Paxos — as a bet on the future of cross-border payments and web3 commerce. You'll learn how a $70 billion company defends its moat when the market has fragmented into dozens of viable alternatives. An essential case study for understanding how mature tech companies manage incremental innovation while defending consolidated revenue and opening new frontier markets like stablecoins and AI-driven payments.

• Network a due lati: conversion uplift e fiducia del brand
• Braintree: volume a margini più bassi, focus su repricing e valore
• Fastlane/Passkeys: meno attriti, più tasso di autorizzazione
• PYUSD con Paxos: ponte tra fiat e web3, compliance-first
• Focus su margini: transaction margin in miglioramento e cash discipline