PayPal enables any individual or business with an email address to send and receive payments online securely and easily using a bank account, credit card , debit card or stored balance. Because PayPal allows customers to shop online without sharing their financial information with merchants, privacy is built into the service.

The size of our network and widening acceptance of our product have helped us become the leading payment network for online auction websites, including eBay. PayPal is also being increasingly used at other e-commerce sites for the sale of goods such as electronics and household items, the sale of services such as web design and travel, and the sale of digital content.

Today PayPal is accepted in over 165,000 websites across Europe. Offline businesses, including lawyers, contractors and physicians, have increasingly begun to receive payments online through PayPal.

PayPal UK is part of PayPal Europe S.àr.l. et Cie S.C.A. a Luxembourg-based limited partnership, which will be regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (‘CSSF’) in Luxembourg. PayPal Inc is the ultimate parent of PayPal Europe S.àr.l. et Cie S.C.A. and is 100% owned by eBay Inc.

PayPal Inc was set up in the US in December 1998 and acquired by eBay Inc in 2002. PayPal has 81 million active accounts* (nearly 210 million total accounts) and is available in 190 markets.

* active accounts are those that have had activity in the past 12 months.