In a letter to employees, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman revealed his priorities for the payments firm formerly owned by eBay. Not surprisingly, mobile was at the top of the list, and Schulman also reminded employees of PayPal’s mission: “democratizing financial services to help as many people and businesses as possible join and thrive in the digital economy.”
In the letter written to ring in the New Year, Schulman called 2018 “another excellent year for PayPal.”
He said there would be great opportunities and challenges ahead, of which “change” was a big theme – including political, economic, and competitive change. The CEO seemed to be warning employees of tumultuous times ahead, but he embraced the opportunities those challenges would present:
“The world is evolving at lightning speed, and the political and economic landscapes remain dynamic. As the world’s economy continues to digitize, our space has never been more attractive to challengers and incumbents. In times like these, the only constant is change.
“Change will always be a way of life at PayPal and it should be. Our industry moves fast, and our opportunity is too great for us to stand still. We want to be an integral part of our customers’ daily financial lives, and we will always need to adapt and evolve to meet our customers’ changing needs. I look forward to working with all of you as we move forward in fulfilling PayPal’s potential as the world’s leader in digital payments, and by doing so, helping all of our fellow citizens become an integral part of the digital economy.”
Schulman did not mention eBay as the two companies continue to untangle their businesses after the 2015 split, with eBay in the process of replacing its infrastructure with Managed Payments, powered by Adyen.
Instead, he spotlighted the opportunities and accomplishments in mobile. “We enhanced our platform capabilities and extended our leadership in mobile. Through a combination of innovation, acquisition, and partnership we greatly strengthened our overall value proposition for merchants and removed friction and provided expanded optionality for consumers.”
“In a short period of time, we have transitioned from being a button on a website to one of the biggest enablers of global commerce,” he wrote.
Of the 2018 accomplishments he listed, he included the following:
- “Our PayPal Working Capital program has now provided access to more than $6 billion in working capital to more than 150,000 merchants around the world since it launched in 2013.”
- “We shattered our previous #GivingTuesday donation record, with over 1 million PayPal customers across 180 markets donating nearly $98 million to charitable causes. For the full year, more than $9.5 billion was donated to nonprofit organizations across the world through the PayPal platform!”
You can find the full letter on the PayPal blog.
Why is it that behind the ivory tower walls CEO’s speak of trouble waters ahead and aren’t afraid to condemn other companies. Then there is the ivory tower letter of fluff and smoking mirrors. And these people wonder why no one believes a word they spew.
“Smoking Mirrors” :o)
I’m getting a picture……..