50+ PayPal Statistics: Users, Finances, Trends, and More

With a user base of over 400 million people across the globe, PayPal is one of the largest online payment service providers.

As of January 2022, the world’s population was 7.9 billion%20of%20the%20world.) people. As such, if you do the math, you’ll find that PayPal’s user base makes up over 5% of the world.

This is just one of the impressive statistics that define PayPal.

This article will cover more than 50 of the most recent and up-to-date PayPal statistics, including the number of people who use PayPal, the platform’s finances, history, and trends, to help you understand more about this payment giant.

Top PayPal statistics

Here’s a list of the most recent PayPal stats.

• In Q3 of 2021, PayPal had 416 million active user accounts (Source: Statista)
• At the end of 2020, PayPal had 29 million merchant accounts (Source: Nasdaq)
• In 2020, active accounts on PayPal made an average of 40.9 transactions each (Source: PayPal 2020 Annual Report)
• 52% of PayPal’s users are female (Source: Statista)
• In Q3 of 2021, PayPal reached a total payment volume (TPV) of $310 billion (Source: PayPal Third Quarter 2021 Results)
• eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion in 2002, only to separate from it in 2015 (Source: The Street)
• PayPal is available in more than 200 countries and supports 25 currencies (Source: PayPal)

PayPal user statistics

Let’s break down some PayPal user and demographic stats.

1. In Q3 of 2021, PayPal had 416 million active user accounts

(Source: Statista)

This indicates a significant growth of 325.5 million accounts over the past 11 years. With PayPal being a preferred payment method for many international businesses and employees, this number is projected to grow even more.

2. 85% of U.S. respondents to Statista Global Consumer Survey stated that they used PayPal in the past 12 months

(Source: Statista)

This makes PayPal one of the most popular payment services in the United States. The number of PayPal users in the USA continues to grow and due to the magnitude of businesses and individuals who use this method, more people and companies are adopting the platform.

3. In 2021, 60% of PayPal users commented on social media posts in the past month

(Source: Statista)

This statistic indicates that many PayPal users are active social media participants as well. Furthermore, the number of U.S. PayPal users who commented on social media posts during that same period was 49%.

4. 22% of PayPal users are between the ages of 18 and 29 years old

(Source: Statista)

This means that the number of PayPal active users who fall into this age group makes up almost a quarter of the company’s user base. As such, businesses that target this age group should consider using this platform.

5. 17% of worldwide PayPal users stated that they live in a small town

(Source: Statista)

For the United States online population, this number was 19%. This statistic shows that PayPal is used by people from all types of backgrounds and communities regardless of its size and population.

6. 58% of PayPal’s users stated that music is among their interests and hobbies

(Source: Statista)

Additionally, 52% of United States consumers and business professionals who use PayPal stated that one of their main hobbies is music.

7. 52% of PayPal users are female

(Source: Statista)

This means that the share of female and male PayPal customers is quite close.

8. Close to 100% of survey respondents in Germany used PayPal for online purchases between Aug 2020 and Aug 2021

(Source: Statista)

This stat comes from Statista’s Global Consumer Survey. People who are most likely to use PayPal for eCommerce purchases all come from countries in Europe. The U.S. only came in sixth place after these European countries.

9. More than 7 million businesses use PayPal

(Source: PayPal)

Many businesses use PayPal because of the platform’s fraud protection tools, data security features, and reliable customer service. The payment platform is especially popular among eCommerce businesses.

10. 5.5% of PayPal’s user base exists within the computer electronics and technology industry

(Source: Similar Tech)

Coming in second after the computer electronics and technology industry is the lifestyle industry with 4.32% users. Third is the gaming industry, with 2.54% users.

11. In April 2020, PayPal had 2.05 million monthly active users (MAUs) in the U.K.

(Source: Statista)

With the number of PayPal MAUs in the UK decreasing each year from 2017 to 2020, it’s evident that fewer people in the UK are using PayPal every month.

12. At the end of 2020, there were 29 million PayPal merchant accounts

(Source: Nasdaq)

A merchant account refers to a business bank account that allows businesses to accept and process electronic payments.

PayPal payment statistics

Next, let’s break down PayPal payment and finance stats.

13. In Q3 of 2021, PayPal reached a total payment volume (TPV) of $310 billion

(Source: PayPal Third Quarter 2021 Results)

Total payment volume refers to the total number of payments made to, from, or through PayPal.

14. PayPal revenue reached $6.18 billion in Q3 of 2021

(Source: Business of Apps)

This signifies a $5.37 billion increase in revenue from the same quarter in 2010. With more businesses and individuals using the platform, revenue is predicted to continue to grow.

15. Over 1.6 million websites use PayPal

(Source: Similar Tech)

Some of the top websites that use PayPal as one of their payment methods include reddit.com, titktok.com, discord.com, and many more. `

16. 484,517 websites in the United States use PayPal

(Source: Similar Tech)

This indicates that the United States is PayPal’s top market. The United Kingdom comes in second with 103,555 websites using the platform.

17. In 2019, 80% of European online shoppers preferred using PayPal and Alipay over other payment methods

(Source: Statista)

Online shoppers in America preferred debit and credit card purchases over PayPal as their payment method.

18. PayPal processed 3.74 billion online transactions in Q2 of 2021

(Source: Statista)

This signifies a 27% growth in the number of payment transactions from the same quarter in the previous year.

19. In 2020, 71% of U.S. eCommerce merchants offered PayPal “buy” buttons on their websites

(Source: Statista)

This number grew by close to 4% from 2017. Buttons for other payment methods aren't as popular, with only 15.8% of eCommerce merchants having offered an Amazon Pay button and 4.4% a Visa Checkout button.

20. At the end of 2018, mobile payments accounted for 41% of PayPal’s TPV

(Source: Statista)

In the second quarter of 2018, PayPal’s mobile payment volume reached $57 billion, an increase of almost $750 million from 2010.

21. 18% of PayPal’s total payment volume was generated through cross-border transactions in 2019

(Source: Statista)

Cross-border transactions refer to payments where the payer and recipient are located in two different countries.

22. In 2020, active accounts on PayPal made an average of 40.9 transactions each

(Source: PayPal 2020 Annual Report)

This number signifies an increase of 1% from 2019. Therefore, it’s clear that the number of transactions that active PayPal accounts make is increasing.

PayPal desktop vs. mobile stats

Now, let’s have a look at some PayPal desktop and mobile stats.

23. In Dec 2021, paypal.com had 601,500,000 visits from mobile and desktop devices

(Source: Similarweb)

PayPal’s website visits grew by over 22 million visitors from July 2021 to December 2021.

24. Paypal.com has a bounce rate of 22.17% for both mobile and desktop devices

(Source: Similarweb)

A bounce rate refers to the number of people who enter a site and then leave without viewing other pages on the site. Generally, a bounce rate of 26% to 40% is excellent. With PayPal’s bounce rate being even lower, this means that the site’s content and functionalities are good quality, and it keeps its audience engaged.

25. In October 2020, the PayPal app was downloaded roughly 43,500 times in the Netherlands

(Source: Statista)

The Apple Store accounted for roughly 18,000 downloads, while the Google Play Store accounted for 25,400 downloads.

26. 59.19% of people use the keyword “paypal” to search for its website

(Source: Similarweb)

This makes “paypal” the top keyword that people use to search for the brand by far. Coming in second after “paypal,” 7.46% of people also search the keyword “paypal login” to find the site.

27. 41.47% of website traffic to paypal.com from desktop devices comes from direct search

(Source: Similarweb)

Direct search, also known as direct traffic, refers to the number of visitors who reach a website by searching for the company directly online.

28. 40.06% of desktop traffic to paypal.com comes from YouTube

(Source: Similarweb)

This makes YouTube the social media network that directs the most traffic to PayPal’s website out of all social platforms. Facebook comes in second with a 22.47% referral rate.

Learn more about social shopping here.

29. 39.6% of desktop traffic to paypal.com comes from the United States

(Source: Similar Web)

Following the United States, 14.39% of PayPal’s website traffic comes from Germany, and 10.24% from the United Kingdom.

30. Mobile devices were used for 67% of online purchases

(Source: PayPal)

Chinese online shoppers showed the biggest mobile preference at 81%. Businesses that use PayPal should make their sites mobile-friendly to improve their user experience.

Discover more online shopping vs. in-store shopping statistics.

PayPal history

Here are a few highlights of PayPal’s history.

31. PayPal surpassed the 1 million customer mark within three years of its launch

(Source: The Street)

Although the company was originally founded as “Confinity” in 1998 by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, the software gained fast traction and had over one million users in the year 2000. The name officially changed to “PayPal” in 2001.

32. During the company’s first day of stock trading in February 2002, a single PayPal share was sold for $20

(Source: The Street)

PayPal’s stock offerings quickly turned into a success as more and more people wanted shares in the company.

33. In October 2002, PayPal was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion

(Source: The Street)

eBay purchased PayPal in an attempt to create a highly touted “marriage” between online payment services and digital auctions.

34. In 2014, PayPal had 15,800 employees

(Source: Macro Trends)

This number has been steadily growing over the past few years. At the end of 2020, PayPal had 26,500 employees. That’s an increase of over 10,000 employees in six years.

35. In 2011, mobile payments on PayPal reached $4 billion

(Source: Electronic Payments International)

Since 2008, PayPal has continued to expand its platform from adding more transaction options to supporting different currencies and devices. With new developments, the company’s mobile payments revenue grew from $4 billion in 2011 to $27 billion in 2013.

36. In 2020, 43% of PayPal’s workforce was female

(Source: Statista)

PayPal claims to have a gender-inclusivity approach to provide job opportunities to both genders.

37. In 2020, during the surge of the global pandemic, PayPal provided small businesses with over $2 billion in loans

(Source: PayPal 2020 Annual Report)

These loans were offered through the Paycheck Protection Program and had an average loan size of $28,000. These loans were provided through direct deposits into PayPal and Venmo accounts.

Venmo’s history

Let’s break down some highlights on Venmo's progress from the time PayPal acquired it.

38. TPV processed by Venmo in the U.S. amounted to $60 billion in 2021

(Source: Statista)

As Venmo is a PayPal subsidiary, the platform accounted for 19% of PayPal’s total payment volume in quarter three of 2021. Venmo’s TPV grew by $55 billion in five years.

39. In 2021, 16% of online consumers in the U.S. used Venmo and liked it

(Source: Statista)

PayPal and Venmo are the most popular digital payment apps. Venmo has the potential to become even more popular with time and marketing as 41% of U.S. consumers say that they’ve never heard of Venmo before. This leaves massive room for growth.

40. In 2020, Venmo generated $450 million in revenue

(Source: Business of Apps)

The software generates revenue through a 2.9% PayPal transaction fee for businesses. PayPal predicted that Venmo’s revenue would amount to $900 million in 2021.

41. In 2020, Venmo had 52 million users

(Source: Business of Apps)

PayPal refers to Venmo users as people who use the app more than once a year. The number of users increased by 49 million from 2015 to 2020.

PayPal stock statistics

Next, let’s have a look at some PayPal stock stats.

42. In 2020, PayPal’s total stockholder return (TSR) was 117%

(Source: PayPal 2020 Annual Report)

Furthermore, PayPal’s three-year total stockholder return (from 2018 to 2020) was 218%.

43. In 2020, 31% of PayPal’s stockholders engaged with the company during its stockholder outreach program

(Source: PayPal 2020 Annual Report)

PayPal reached out to 63% of its common stockholders at the end of 2020 with the goal of engaging with them. Approximately half of them responded and engaged with the brand.

44. PayPal’s shares rose as much as 5.5% in 2021 after the company reported its Q1 earnings

(Source: CNBC)

People earned $1.22 per share versus the $1.01 earnings expected in a Refinitiv survey of analysts.

45. Analysts expect PayPal shares to reach revenue of $6.89 billion in the first quarter of 2022

(Source: Nasdaq)

This number is quite impressive, as it represents a growth of 12.62% from the same period during the previous year.

Are you interested in stock trading? Here are some free stock trading apps to consider.

PayPal trends

Here are some of the latest PayPal trend stats.

46. PayPal’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) program generated around 750,000 transactions on Black Friday in 2021

(Source: eMarketer)

This represents a 400% year-over-year growth. The program has over 10 million consumers and is predicted to have far more in 2022.

47. 45% of Australians who shop online have used BNPL

(Source: PayPal)

According to a recent study commissioned by PayPal, the company found that its buy-now-pay-later program is extremely popular among Australian consumers. Of the 45% of Australian consumers who use BNPL, more than half of them have two or more BNPL accounts.

48. PayPal is available in more than 200 countries and supports 25 currencies

(Source: PayPal)

With PayPal expanding into more territories, businesses from around the world are starting to use PayPal as one of the payment methods that they provide to their customers.

PayPal competitors

Now, let’s break down some PayPal competitor stats.

49. In September 2021, PayPal’s market share of online payments processing software amounted to 50.32% worldwide

(Source: Statista)

This makes PayPal the leading payment processing software in the world and one of the most preferred payment options out there. Stripe came in second with a 15.38% market share, and Shopify Pay Installments came in third with a 9.26% market share.

50. Bankofamerica.com is PayPal’s #1 competitor in terms of online traffic

(Source: Similarweb)

With bankofarmerica.com having over 130 million monthly visits to its website and ranking fourth in the Finance Banking Credit and Lending category, it serves as PayPal’s biggest competitor when it comes to online searches.

51. PayPal ranked #2 in terms of brand intimacy in the Financial Services industry during the second year of COVID-19

(Source: Nasdaq)

Consumers are becoming all the more conscious of emotional connections with brands. In 2021, PayPal was ranked second after the USAA as the financial services provider that offers the best brand intimacy in the industry.

PayPal cryptocurrency statistics

Lastly, let’s have a look at some interesting PayPal cryptocurrency stats.

52. In 2019, PayPal was one of the 28 corporate backers of the Libra Cryptocurrency project

(Source: CNBC)

However, PayPal decided to back out of the project. The company said it would prefer to focus on advancing its existing mission and priorities to democratize access to financial services for underserved markets.

53. PayPal users pay 2.3% for cryptocurrency transactions below $100

(Source: PayPal)

These transactions are the main source of revenue for PayPal’s cryptocurrency division. Although these fees can be steep, consumers continue to buy cryptocurrency.

54. Experts suggest that users shouldn’t invest more than 5% of their money in crypto

(Source: Time)

With PayPal having the option to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency on its platform, users are able to buy crypto for as little as $1 to as much as $100,000. However, due to the volatile nature of crypto, experts say that users shouldn’t invest too much into crypto.

Start using PayPal

With PayPal being the leading payment processing platform, it’s clear that it is an ideal platform to use for both individuals and businesses who primarily focus on selling products online.

If you’re thinking of using PayPal for your eCommerce store this year, have a look at these most recent and relevant eCommerce statistics and trends.