8 Rapid-Fire Acquisitions That Fuel PayPal's Mobile Strategy

Published September 27, 2013 4:43 PM

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Updated October 20, 2016 10:14 AM

1 Min Read

PayPal Inc.'s mobile application is displayed on Apple Inc. iPhones and iPods at an event hosted by PayPal in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010. PayPal offers a network to send and receive online payments. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

eBay's $800 million purchase of Braintree is the latest in a series of acquisitions that are steadily building PayPal into a powerhouse in mobile payments. Most of these acquisitions took place within the past two years. (Image: Bloomberg News)

David Marcus, president of PayPal, a unit of EBay Inc., pauses during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K., on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. EBay, based in San Jose, California, is expecting payment volume at PayPal to double in the next three years as people increasingly shop and pay for goods on mobile devices. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** David Marcus

Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Zong

PayPal's 2011 purchase of Zong gave it more than just a mobile billing provider. With Zong, PayPal got David Marcus (pictured), who became PayPal's president in March of last year. (Image: Bloomberg News)

Zef Nikolla

Braintree/Venmo

In buying Braintree, PayPal also gets access to Venmo, the "one-click" mobile shopping provider that Braintree acquired last year. Under the Venmo Touch system, users type only a card's security code to make in-app payments with a previously enrolled payment card. (Image: PayPal)

An attendee takes a photograph of a Consumer Electronics Show sign outside the 2013 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. The 2013 CES trade show, which runs until Jan. 11, is the world's largest annual innovation event that offers an array of entrepreneur focused exhibits, events and conference sessions for technology entrepreneurs. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Duff Research

PayPal bought Duff Research this year to scoop up a talented team of engineers that has won two technical Emmys and four "Best of CES" awards for their work. Duff counted major companies like TiVo and Adidas among its clients. (Image: Bloomberg News)

us dollar

darksite/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Iron Pearl

Iron Pearl, a 2013 acquisition, was another company PayPal purchased for its talent. Iron Pearl co-founder Stan Chudnovsky is one of the "few people who have actually mastered the art of growth," Marcus said. (Image: ThinkStock)

Card.io

Card.io is a major component of the PayPal Here card-reading app. The vendor's technology allows users to scan card details through a phone's camera to make a payment or link the card to a PayPal account. PayPal bought Card.io in 2012 and by March 2013 integrated the technology with its software tools for developers. (Image: Card.io)

Mobile network concept

Alexandr Mitiuc/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Fig

Fig Card Corp.'s technology allows consumers to make in-person payments using a phone's WiFi signal to communicate with a USB device at the point of sale. PayPal bought Fig in 2011, and Fig's approach minus the USB plug-in strongly resembles PayPal's current cloud-based wallet. (Image: ThinkStock)

Online shopping

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BillSafe

PayPal's acquisitions extend beyond the U.S. Its 2011 purchase of BillSafe gave it a provider of purchase-on-invoice technology in Germany, where it is common to purchase an item online and pay for it only after receiving an invoice. (Image: ThinkStock)

Bill Me Later

Bill Me Later didn't start as a mobile payments company, but in 2011 PayPal repurposed this 2008 acquisition's instant-credit technology to weave it into PayPal's digital wallet. By treating point of sale transactions as credit, PayPal gives customers a five-day float during which they can change the funding source they use to pay off the purchase. (Image: ShutterStock)