PayPal has launched a cross-border payments platform connecting many of the world’s largest payments networks.
PayPal World, announced Wednesday (July 23), is debuting with partners that include Tenpay Global from China, and India’s NPCI International Payments Limited, which operates the country’s UPI mobile payments network.
In addition, PayPal has inked a memorandum of understanding with Latin American mobile payments FinTech Mercado Pago, though details are being finalized.
With these partnerships, PayPal aims to connect to more than two billion users worldwide, the company said in a news release.
“PayPal World is a first-of-its-kind payments ecosystem that will bring together many of the world’s largest payment systems and digital wallets on a single platform. It is testament to the passion our partners share for an inclusive, global digital economy and has the potential to revolutionize cross-border commerce,” PayPal President and CEO Alex Chriss said in the release.
“The challenge of moving money across borders is incredibly complex, and yet this platform will make it so simple for nearly two billion consumers and businesses. We believe the changes we are announcing today have the potential to be a real game changer over time.”
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With PayPal World, the release added, PayPal and its Venmo payments system will become interoperable for the first time, letting users of both services send money to each other, anywhere in the world. And beginning in 2026 Venmo users will be able to shop both online and in-store with merchants that accept PayPal.
“For merchants, it’s a new way to reach Venmo’s base of younger, urban, affluent, and digitally native consumers,” the company said.
“This will expand the reach of PayPal’s two-sided network, driving more demand for merchants and offering consumers more choice and flexibility.”
PayPal World is launching at a time when “mobile wallets and mobile-first payments are reshaping consumer transactions online and in-store,” as PYMNTS wrote last week.
Research from the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Pocket Revolution: How Mobile Wallets Are Changing Payments Worldwide” — based on a survey of 216,679 consumers across 11 countries, representing 50% of world GDP — shows that mobile wallets now power 35% of digital transactions and 21% of in-store transactions across these nations.
“The shift reflects a change in the form factor — meaning the device or method used to make a payment — from traditional plastic cards to mobile interfaces, without altering the underlying funding sources like credit or debit cards,” PYMNTS wrote.
“Instead, mobile wallets securely store and tokenize these familiar methods, offering a faster and safer way to pay.”
