PayPal is no stranger to risk management — taking on the risk for online transactions is why PayPal exists.
The eBay subsidiary is adding to its portfolio of credit products with small business loans, called Working Capital, announced earlier this week on its blog.
Oh yeah, PayPal’s also acquiring its payments rival Braintree for approximately $800 million. Not a bad week.
Small business loans are a hot product among nonbank lenders since bank loans to SMBs grew scarce in the credit crisis. PayPal offers loans up to $20,000 or 8% of a merchant’s PayPal volume.
The program is run using WebBank in Utah, a press-shy institution that, much like the Bancorp, whitelabels services for nonbank partners. WebBank also administers BillMeLater, PayPal’s credit program for purchases using a PayPal account. PayPal also offers a five-day float on international remittances. Collectively, these products amount to a significant risk management burden for PayPal.
What’s next, PayPal mortgages? Why not? The company has the experience and the capital.
PayPal took on another kind of risk with the announcement today that it had agreed — as industry watchers have long surmised — to acquire Chicago-based payments company Braintree for $800 million. Together, the companies are a formidable force in digital payments, with a modern tech stack and a distinguished client list. Braintree’s prominent clients include Uber and Airbnb.
Braintree CEO Bill Ready’s post on the acquisition is here.
For the time being, Braintree will operate as a separate unit with its staff and executives in place. (So, for those keeping score at home, Venmo is a unit within Braintree, which will be a unit within PayPal, which is a unit within eBay.)
PayPal expects to process $20 billion in payments in 2013 while Braintree expects — or expected — to close $12 billion.