Business Essay Sample: PayPal Company

Each day the world becomes closer to being fully online. Nowadays many people would be lost if they left their house without their phone. Everything from passports to credit cards can now be stored on cellphones. To pay for lunch people can simply tap their device and the money transfers over. The emergence of technology has also made the world a much smaller place. It takes all of two minutes to purchase a product from anywhere in the world. While this technological era has continued to develop, there have been a few companies who have put their stamp on it. One company that has made their specific mark on the money side of technological advancement is PayPal. PayPal has made purchasing online both quick and secure for everyone. Their mission statement is, “to democratize financial services to ensure that everyone, regardless of background or economic standing, has access to affordable, convenient and secure products and services to take control of their financial lives”. As a company their goal is to provide a service that lets all people across the globe grow their money securely through investments and purchasing goods safely. PayPal is a socially responsible company at its heart and yet still does more work to improve the welfare of the world.

In 2020 the world went through one of the most unfamiliar and challenging events in the last hundred years. Many people experienced economic struggles due to the lessened need of workers and inability to work. The whole world went through some sort of hardship at one point or another during the pandemic. While many companies had massive losses during 2020, PayPal had its best year yet. This is in part, due to the surge towards becoming a ‘digital-first’ society. With most stores closed and everyone locked inside all day people turned to online shopping and secure payment with PayPal. In November of 2020 PayPal let its users trade cryptocurrency directly through the app. This allows for anyone in the world to acquire wealth from just their phone and some timely trades. Many small businesses use PayPal for their payments and financial accounts. During the pandemic PayPal and Venmo supported the direct deposit of stimulus checks and waived the check-cashing fees for their users. They also helped provide access to over $2 Billion worth of loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. PayPal has also made large strides in promoting equity and inclusion. In 2020, the company introduced a $535 million commitment to supporting racial equity, shrinking the racial wealth gap, and supporting black-owned small businesses. As of February 2021, over $300 million of the $535 million has been sent out to over 1,400 black-owned small businesses and 20 non-profits supporting underprivileged communities. PayPal is constantly staying true to its mission through their practices. They also fully go all the way when they make a commitment for example already donating more than half of the money in about a year. PayPal also recognizes that in order to ensure all people across the globe, regardless or background, have access to affordable, convenient, and secure products they must do their part in combatting climate change. They realize as a company they first must do their part. PayPal has pledged to be net zero on greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2040. During the time between now and 2040 the company has pledged to use 100% renewable energy sources by 2023. Once again here is another example of PayPal demonstrating a great understanding of what it means to be leaders in society. It’s one thing for a company to say they are going to have a social impact, but it is another thing for a company to actually apply and follow through on those promises. 

PayPal, despite doing a very good job at being positive socially, still has areas where they can grow. One way they could step up their philanthropy would be to match donations on certain fundraisers that they as a company particularly support. If PayPal matched a local family’s fundraiser donations that would make a real impact on real everyday people. PayPal could also lift transaction fees for people in underprivileged communities or even countries. If they are genuinely truthful about giving all people access to secure and affordable products, they should offer a way for more affordable purchasing for people. Both ideas directly align to PayPal’s values as they are both rooted in helping communities financially and giving people the ability to securely purchase goods conveniently. By matching fundraisers PayPal would be putting money into the pockets of people who really need it and it would allow for those families or groups of people to be more financially secure during whatever hardship they are going through. If PayPal lifted their transaction fees for people in underprivileged communities, that would be directly in line with their mission of offering an affordable way to purchase for all people. PayPal does an exceptional job at having a positive social impact outside of their main business model, but with the addition of these two initiatives I think the social impact would be more widely recognized by common people. 

Works Cited:

1. Mission, vision & values. PayPal - Who We Are - Mission, Vision & Values. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://about.pypl.com/who-we-are/mission-vision-and-values/default.aspx. 

2. PayPal releases 2020 global impact report. PayPal Newsroom. (2021, April 27). Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2021-04-27-PayPal-Releases-2020-Global-Impact-Report