Paypal by the Numbers: Quick Facts & Figures

Here are some basic Paypal related facts, numbers and trivia that will help you get a clearer picture of this powerful online service.

>>    Paypal was founded in 1998.

>>    It's the number one electronic payment processor and money transfer service worldwide for years.
Its online competitors are far behind.

>>    The brand is the result of a merger between 2 different companies, Confinity and X.com, which took place in 2000.

>>    Paypal supports 24 different currencies and available in 190 countries and territories around the world.

>>    Paypal's global headquarters are located in San Jose, CA, in the United States.

>>    The president of PayPal is Mr. Scott Thompson.

>>    Paypal's website has won the Webware and Webby awards.

>>    It has 20 localized sites.

>>    It is owned by shopping giant eBay.com, since 2002.

>>    In the U.S., Paypal is the 2nd most preferred online payment method, right after Visa. In the UK, Paypal is the most popular internet payment method.

>>    The paypal.com site is among the top 50 most visited sites, according to the Alexa.com web information company.

>>    Paypal has now more than 150 million user accounts all over the world.

>>    Paypal has severe restrictions on account owners and forbids them to sell or buy products, services or content associated with hate, violence, gambling, tobacco products, drugs and obscene material.

>>    According to the results of Paypal's 2008 Holiday Survey, conducted by market research company Ipsos, a third of internet shoppers use Paypal for their online purchases.