FinTech: April Was PayPal’s Strongest Month Since its IPO; “We will Hasten the Demise of Cash”
President and CEO Dan Schulman’s comments on PayPal’s April month and May 1 transactions were a revelation.
On Wednesday, Paypal (NASDAQ: PYPL) declared its first-quarter numbers. President and CEO Dan Schuman’s remarks on the earnings call regarding PayPal’s post-quarter performance gave an insight into how the fintech’s fortunes are changing due to the COVID-19 crisis and shelter-in-place rules. His comments propelled the stock to a 14% gain for the day and an all-time high. (Seeking Alpha)
Fintechs in clover? Key takeaways from Schuman’s remarks
- COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we think about the future
- Dramatic acceleration from physical to digital
- Digital payments have evolved from a “nice to have” capability to an essential service.
- “We began to see a very noticeable shift in our results toward the end of March and throughout April.”
- “We saw dramatic increases in our daily net new actives and overall engagement levels.”
- Unprecedented demand for PayPal’s products and services unfolded in the past month
- Transactions are up 20% year-over-year, with branded transactions up over 43% more than double pre-COVID levels in January and February
- On May 1st, PayPal reported its largest single day of transactions in its history, larger than last year’s transactions on Black Friday or Cyber Monday
- April revenues +20%, and record revenue growth of +35% in checkout experiences
- Net new active accounts hit record highs in April, surging over 140% from January and February levels
- In April, Paypal added on average about 250,000 net new active accounts a day
- The all-time record of 7.4 million net new customers set in April, and a record 10 million for Q1
- “I would characterize April is perhaps our strongest month since our IPO”
- Paypal anticipates that it will add 15 million to 20 million new accounts in Q2
- “We would expect strong EPS and free cash flow growth in Q2”
“I believe we will look back at this time as a tipping point, where digital payments both offline and online became an essential element of our lives, hastening the demise of cash, enforcing a reimagination of commerce, retailing and the payment system.”
Related Story: FinTech: COVID or Not, Fintechs are Flourishing
Latest Alternative Investment News
Digital Assets: Ledger, Maker Of Crypto Security Hardware, Raises Nearly All Of $100M Series C Round
Paris-based startup Ledger, which makes hardware wallets for cryptocurrency investors, has raised €100m ($109m) in funding, valuing the company at €1.3bn. The round was led by investors including Digital Finance…
FinTech: Cogo And Eliq Partner To Help Banking Customers Enhance The Energy Efficiency Of Their Homes
Cogo, a fintech which collaborates with banks to assist customers in decreasing their carbon footprint as a carbon footprint management firm, is partnering with Eliq, a company that specializes in…
Venture Capital: The LSP Dementia Fund Closes €260M (US$283M) To Address Dementia, One Of The Most Significant Health Crises Of Our Era
The LSP Dementia Fund has reached a final close at €260 million (US$ 283 million), surpassing its initial target of €100 million. The fund, which is managed by EQT Life…
Artificial Intelligence: The DAGGER AI Model Gives Advance Warning Of Dangerous Solar Storms
Researchers have developed an AI-based model that combines satellite data and machine learning to predict where an impending solar storm will strike on Earth, offering 30 minutes of advance warning….