PayPal Holdings Inc. is broadening its U.S. banking footprint and expanding digital payment access globally, including Africa, announcing plans to establish a Utah-chartered digital bank and launch a platform connecting major digital wallets worldwide.
The proposed PayPal Bank would allow the company to offer small business loans and savings accounts directly, reducing reliance on third-party banks. Since 2013, the payments firm has extended more than $30 billion in loans and working capital to over 420,000 businesses globally.
The firm has submitted applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for the bank, which would provide FDIC-insured deposits and seek direct membership with U.S. card networks. Mara McNeill, former CEO of Toyota Financial Savings Bank, has been named president.
“Securing capital remains a significant hurdle for small businesses striving to grow,” PayPal CEO Alex Chriss said. “Establishing PayPal Bank will strengthen our business and enable us to better support small business growth across the U.S.”
The firm has also unveiled PayPal World, a platform connecting major digital wallets including PayPal, Venmo, Mercado Pago, UPI (NPCI International Payments Limited) and Tenpay Global. The platform aims to simplify cross-border shopping and money transfers for nearly two billion users, including consumers and businesses in Africa, allowing them to pay international merchants using their domestic wallets and currencies.
As part of the rollout, PayPal and Venmo will become interoperable, enabling users to send money internationally and, from 2026, shop at millions of merchants worldwide that accept PayPal.
PayPal World is designed to support future wallet integrations, stablecoins, and AI-assisted commerce. The platform is expected to go live this fall, starting with PayPal and Venmo, with additional wallets joining over the coming months.
In September, the firm said it would invest $100 million throughout the Middle East and Africa, to fuel innovation, support entrepreneurs, and drive inclusive economic growth in the region.
The firm will do these through a mix of minority investments, acquisitions, ventures funding, people, and technology deployments to help local businesses scale, unlock new opportunities for innovators, and bring millions more consumers and communities into the digital economy.