PayPal is one of the biggest companies in fintech, and some could even say that their brand recognition is the next-best behind staples like MasterCard and Visa. In fact, as a payment management service, PayPal takes up a share of over 40 per cent of the market. Only Stripe can rival that share with its roughly 37 per cent take.
It’s a dominant share of the market that’s only made more impressive by the long list of rivals. One such lead rival that had received a valuation of $2.3 billion just eight years ago certainly looked to run aground recently. In November, Adyen saw its shares plummet by 62 per cent amidst wider payments stocks falls, requiring its top brass to meet with investors amidst fears of a fintech bust.
Adyen steadies the ship after investor meeting
In the middle of August, Adyen reported a slowdown in sales, and as a result, their shares tumbled significantly. So, the Amsterdam-based payments firm had to find a way to rally. The solution was essentially to course correct to more realistic targets for profitability and net revenue, with the plan showcased to investors in a presentation over in San Francisco, California. As you can read about here, the presentation worked: shares bounced by 38 per cent.
Still, the whole situation certainly showcases the difficulties in attempting to mount a challenge in the payments market. Even with the sector as a whole taking a significant hit this year regarding share prices, over the last six months, PayPal has only dipped by 9.58 per cent. Right now, the service is working fine, it continues to be a popular choice among customers, and is trusted worldwide.
For all of these reasons and more, PayPal is sought out by millions online looking to make any kind of online payment. This could be your standard eCommerce transaction or on a platform where you could withdraw cash as well. PayPal casinos, for example, have become very popular because of the security, convenience, speed, and user-friendly nature of the service. You can get started now at such a platform anywhere as PayPal is globally accepted.
Are there other rivals to PayPal’s dominance?
Adyen has long been seen as a potential lead competitor to PayPal and its fellow frontrunner in North America, Stripe, but there are other services that are trying to work their way to the top. Payoneer, for example, boasts global reach akin to PayPal’s, charges low transaction fees, and options for businesses to add percentage fees to payments for the use of credit or debit cards.
One of the more interesting emerging fintech companies, however, is Rainforest. Following an $8.5 million seed round, the startup has generated a lot of buzz for its stance in the market. Its angle is that software companies are currently using processors not specifically built for their platforms, which has then required alterations to the payment services. So, Rainforest offers a more tailored product within this niche, pitting them against the likes of Stripe to embed their range of financial services.
PayPal remains the dominant force in the market and likely will be for some time, but it’s good to see that some more seasoned and newer startup competitors have shown some staying power and even growth this year.