PayPal is reportedly looking to takeover Pinterest, according to Bloomberg News.
PinPal?
The financial technology company PayPal is reportedly offering a deal to the image-sharing platform, according to a report published by Bloomberg News. The deal is said to be worth $39 billion and has sent Pinterest‘s shares soaring to more than 10%.
Pinterest started in 2010 and has been consistently cited as a source for everything pretty. Wedding optics, interior design, and artwork are its bread and butter, where users can share and post pictures and “pin” them to an online board for the use of collages. It’s a far cry from the straightforward approach of the PayPal business model.
Pinteresting…
Recently Pinterest has been making a series of interesting moves to expand its platform. In an attempt to separate itself from the accusations fired at Facebook and Instagram, it announced a series of features to aid “emotional wellbeing”, including “Takes” which offers users to post their “take” on a concept like outfits and recipes.
Its services also now include visual search and e-commerce, signing a deal with Shopify to turn the platform into a rival of Etsy: a platform for online retailers.
Is PayPal getting into retail?
This might be where the attraction lies for PayPal, whose business plan relies on online transactions. The app has seen profits soar through the pandemic due to the adoption of digital payment methods. Both Facebook and Instagram have been challenging Pinterest’s place in social media by pushing for more e-commerce options and expanding the apps’ retail potential.
PayPal is also making moves to expand its services. In September 2021 the company bought the Japanese mobile Paidy for $2.7 billion, which is a popular buy-now-pay-later service.
