PayPal is Taking PYUSD Stablecoin & Crypto Global! with May Zabaneh

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and custod your crypto. A great alternative once again with tax advantages and a lot of safety, very safe compared to many exchanges, and all the links will be in a description. Check it out. Hey everyone, welcome into the Thinking Crypto podcast. I'm your host, Tony Edward and joining me today is May Zabane, who is the SVP and General Manager of Crypto at PayPal. May has been at PayPal for over eighteen years and PayPal most recently is announced it's taking its pyus the stable coin global with

a massive launch across seventy new markets. May, great to have you, Great to be here, Yeah, May, I am so excited for this conversation to dive into the latest news of PayPal's expansion of p y usd as well as your other crypto initiatives. But I would love to kick it off with your background. Tell us about where

you're from and your professional background. Yeah.

And loved it from there. So I have like hardware experience that have done and then into the payments side of the house and been in payments for quite a while, and then that brought me into crypto because the fascinating part of like how can you continue to innovate in payments and how do you really drive and add value back to consumers and merchants and utilizing a new technology such as watchain technology and being able to do that was like super exciting and a passion of mine.

access to to hedge from inflation. We knew that like cross border fees were expensive, like wires and time and settlement, and so I grew up in that environment with that pretty much being embedded is kind of the core of justt of everyday life. And so when you take those those were foundational, like rooted kind of problems that we always knew about just money and it's connectivity and access

around the world and from a global perspective. And so when obviously the white paper came out and then there was like the bitcoin emergence and then the continuous around while there could be a stable cryptocurrency, right, that then ties and it still takes all these benefits like it's incident transfers, it's reduced costs, it's sent to anyone anywhere in the world, like it really then starts to become that aha moment of Wow, these are pain points that

I've seen for most of my life, and now there's a technology that's really starting to bridge us further and closer into this global connectivity in such a meaningful way.

question because it's not so much for me, but I think more the crypto curious and that people who are still learning about stable coins and all these things are stable coins and blockchain technology. What does that mean to Paypalt? Is it, let's say, the fabric of how payments are going to move forward? Or is this a proof of concept you're testing and you're doing certain things. I want you to answer that question. I know the answer, but I want you to give that perspective.

familiar with. Right, And so when you think about just that, that's who we started as a company. We started connecting people, We started connecting consumers and merchants. We started connecting consumers and consumers to be able to move their money and value and in a way that is simple and easy and relatable to them.

wants to receive. And by the way, you can do that today through PayPal, a platform that you're familiar with, and you can send it will there's no cross border fee, there's no time to settle, it can arrive instantly and for them. And so I think that's the most important thing that any mainstream user needs to understand, not the complexity or the back end or the plumbing of how things work, but actually, like what value do I get

out of it as a customer? What are you tangibly giving me, Which is something that has faster speed, something that has a lower cost, something that then you're putting in a platform that can be accessible to me in the place that I'm used to engaging with and trust.

PayPal announced the expansion of its stable coin pyu is the to seventy markets worldwide. So talk to us a bit about that and how that's going to improve crossborder payments. You know, you highlighted some of the benefits there and the strategy behind the expansion.

how do we now enable our PayPal wallets around the world into these seventy markets to be able to hold, send, spend, and earn rewards on our stable point. And by the way, now if that if that consumer and that's in a specific country Columbia, Peru, et cetera, now wants to send it to somebody else. Now they can again, they send it, they receive it in a stable value as US sollers backed stable coin. They can now send it to another person. And now a flywheel really starts to emerge, and there's

there's no costs. There's really like bare minimum costs in that. So the transfer feed part of it is minimal of costs, the stability of it being there's no conversion into local guardsy they can when they want to, and that gives them more control because now if I received it, and I'm in one of those kinds trees as p y U, s C, I can whenever I want to, whenever the FX you know, rates are best suited for me to

be able to convert it. And so it really gives and empowers people around the world to have more like economic control. And I think that's what really like excites us the most and like makes this really purposeful because now you really are able to give that stability to people and especially where they need it most.

But it really give gives at least puts your money to your you know, your money value, monetary value to work when you're not sending or spending it.

The great news is that most people in these emergent countries and different places already actually understand what stable coins are have adopted it half familiarity again because people are trying to find ways to provide stability for themselves. And you know, US dollar accessed just as a as a currency is not always accessible in certain countries for many different reasons and relationships or infrastructure that's available, and so I think that's where crypto it provides a little bit

more accessibility and access. So it's still the stability of US dollar, but it's it is a cryptocurrency that is open and accessible.

I thought back to two thousand and nineteen ninety nine and using PayPal back then in the early days of the Internet, and it's amazing how things have evolved since then. It's just fascinating. It's incredible.

you know, let a lot of that. And so when you think about just the evolution of just your money or your value, and I think this is a bit of the next frontier, which is like, how do you now take we've made some of these pieces. Now it's a bit of that on chain, you know version we've done off liin mobile online, and now it's like, okay, what does the chain application into payments look like? And how do you take and freak those benefits and then

provide that back to customers. So I think it's actually super exciting because I think when you think about the world and where we are, global connectivity matters a lot instancy, and you know, things are becoming more rapid and instant, and that's everything of our expectations, from social to payments

to every aspect. And then if you even predict further out like into an AI you know world, if you think agent to agent and you think about some of these things, it needs programmable money and a different type of currency than fiat, especially if you think of micro transactions and you think about things that if we believe that is where the world is going, then it will also need a digitally native for grammable currency, where stable coins would have also a perfect fit to play in there.

going to have a built in crypto wallet. And I can't imagine those those things AI agents and humanoid robots are going to be using cash and stable coins are you know, the best fit with the instant settlement twenty four to seven, you know, everything's running three sixty five, it seems those digital we want to call it, non human interactions are going to be powered by stable coins.

is it? And then that's why cross border payments, it's it's a pretty it's a pretty compelling solution when you look at the costs and the settlement and the times and so there definitely I think will be a world, or continue to be a world where both will continue to exist. And I think it's just the sharpened focus of like true maximized value, because there's no point in moving some things that work very efficiently onto stable cointments.

Like what's the point of that If it's not adding value, it's not reducing costs, and it's not helping customers at the end of the day. But maybe it's helping a business in the back end being more efficient in their treasury movement, maybe cross countries and borders, and then a customer probably never needs to know, but the company itself is maximizing its efficiency or saving costs, and that that's

super relevant. And so I think it's the application as we think about it, what is the product market fit? What true value do you drive in the equation? And then being able to provide that out is the world that we will see more of. So I think it's a little bit of that pushing payments further into spaces that drive that really need faster speed, need lower costs, and then you'll see that emerge a lot.

and that is TCS Blockchain and Paypals partnership where the collaboration allows for more carriers to settle freight invoices faster and cheaper. Tell us about that collaboration.

be able to then operate in their financial lives. So I think it was a great way for them to just showcase like application and what I really loved about it also it's in a different vertical a different industry than we've normally and traditionally talked about like just holistically as an industry as we've thought about kind of payments

or the application. And this is what I think is super exciting now and what we'll start to see from here to the next few years is the applications of blockchain and stables into more and more verticals, into places where there are really driving down kind of pain points. And that was a great like B to B example of where it helps.

to me is YouTube added p YUS, the stable coin as a payout option for US content creators. How did that come about?

How do you provide people more access into everything that we had just talked about, Right, a stable currency for where they need it, so more globally if you think about it, And what YouTube did is apply it within their US aspect to start with, right, And so I think it's we have a product called a payouts product within PayPal and that has multi different ways for YouTube to be able to pay out for their content creators.

And so we worked internally with our teams and expanded to have p yusc also as an option in our payouts product. So if a consumer would want for it to be in their bank account, they can also obviously have that, and now they can also have it within py USC.

for people. It's like because that is a place that I think there is a major pain point, which is why we integrated the product in the first place with pyosc because now all these marketplaces, all these places where content creators, if you just step away from just specifically on the Google one, just holistically that market on content creation and gig workers they do, there's a lot that get paid overseas, and so that ties into our earlier

conversation of then now not only domestically but also internationally allowing people to have choice in the way that they want to get paid, and then depending on where where it is is like the value that it will matter most with. So I think it was a great example in use case of like how to apply a stable coin into into an aspect of a different again vertical and way that people would give people choice.

u s d X, a framework that allows developers to issue application specific stable coins backed by p y u s C. That's pretty incredible to tell us about that.

so what are they offering developers. They're offering developers essentially the ability to get started quickly easily, to be able to have then their own stable coin and be able to have their own business that they can build off of in a very fast way. And ultimately that is backed by pyosc, which pyosc is holistically in itself as transparent reserves is like as a you know, a brand

halo around it. And so this partnership is perfect. It takes the best of what we do, which is offering our brand is stable coin, the best of what mumpe and m zero do, which is providing the platform and infrastructure, and they then have packaged that out into the industry for developers as a tool to be able to say,

start building. We make this easy for you, and then you can kind of build your businesses not worry about these things instead of getting bogged down without actually go create the experiences you know, and the ideas and bring those to life. Where these developers have such creative aspects of So I.

So plamon Pan has been able to do with them zero is just like package this up almost kind of like you said, like as a service type in a box for them and then go build, Like here's the infrastructure part that you need to go build and and create the business that you know they've dreamt of and and you know fundamentally want to you know, solve some specific problem that they're building for.

are possible because the Genius Act has been passed and that's that's been rolled out, and you know what does that meant for PayPal's business, you know on the stable coin.

America back in the in the game a bit. It provided this you know, showcase of a framework and of a stance that we want to have, you know, cryptocurrencies and building and thinking holistically about the crypto industry back into the game of like being more forefront of innovation, giving traditional players what they would need to feel like the permission to play in without worrying about the ambiguity.

And I think that's exactly what it did. It helped because post Genius, what you saw as a floodgate then of all the traditional players in the industry now starting to say more publicly and come out, Okay, we need to think about what our stable point strategy is. We need to think about what it means, how do we use it, how do you apply it, do you create

your own do you not? So it just almost as if it was permission to engage, and that's what I thought was really powerful about it and what we started to see. So it started to make the conversation actually much easier. Before it was a lot of will there should there be stable coins, but they're not yet regulated, there's no frameworks around it. And it took all of that away, and it's just like, yes, stable coins are real, stable points are here, they're actually even from a government perspective,

like being talked about and will be regulated. And so now it's just about so what do you do and how do you materialize the benefits of it to your own business?

It's it's I think, like a pivotal time in history, and I think it's going to be looked back as you know, hey, twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six, that was the moment we went fully digital so to speak, with the US dollar and helped it to maintain the world reserve currency status.

I'd say, like it's the first unique moment. We're at this exact kind of almost crossroads or like this pivotal change where if you think about the impacts of if AI, you think about the impacts of blockchain technology and the application of it, like we are changing the way people interact, We're changing the way people move value, people even see value, and people can access value and it's really powerful and that's what makes us like intersections so exciting to be

in the center of this, to be able to define and iterate and figure out what that next wave is as the world is evolving and every day there's something different and technology is moving at a speed so than I think we've ever seen it before, and so it's it's such a beautiful time to be able to be here, to be present, and to be able to build in this space.

end of this, but a reserve asset. So I think it's what I love about this is it starts to show like where the cryptonative ecosystem has continued to develop and build in these applications and use cases, but doesn't need to go on solid of everything it can actually rely on than a reserve asset. That's you know again, has that transparency, has that aspect that brings brings the credibility and takes away the complexity.

Genius Act, Passing is looking to launch a stable coin, right even the banks are talking by doing so. Certainly there's going to be more than one obviously, uh maybe more than a handful, But could there be too much saturation over time where there needs to be some consolidation and you know, PayPal being one of the leaders in payments with a huge brand, huge network, look to acquire somebody these other stable coin players and build up its you know network even further. Yeah.

We've already created our own and built you know, have our own obviously with Taxis being the issuer, but we have our own branded one and so now it's like, okay, so we've already passed that kind of question that I think a lot of people are still entering into. We've passed that question for us. It's like utility and application. It's like, how do I now make this into real payments, real adoption and real people using it and materializing it?

And those are the problems we're thinking about and solving. How do you ignite the flywheels? How do you start giving it in more hands to more people around the world in our ecosystem. I think to your point, a lot of other companies are starting on this debate. You know, what do they do? What should their approach be? And exactly that, Like, if they start now, there's probably going to be there will be there's going to be a lot of players trying to get in. Not all of

them will succeed. Some only want it enclosed wall gardens, some will leave it open, And so you get into this aspect they really should think through of like really how much complexity should they take on and where do they want to play as they see the world and it's changing.

and obviously Aypal it's clearly doing that. Are there any

interesting trends or anything you're It might be too early to answer this question, but that you're seeing with the younger generation. I don't know if you guys track things like that, and how they're adopting crypto via Venmo and PayPal and even the use of p y USD.

So I actually definitely think you're spot on, Like I think there is a generational thing where they have actually getting introduced into digital value, straight into cryptocurrencies, and so I think they're they're they're also in a world where like they are engaging and adopting and having to like materialize what the move of technology so fast, Right, So they've gotten used to TikTok and they've gotten new to Instagram.

They've grown in a digital world themselves. They've had iPads since they were like I don't know two three some of them, and that's what the first device that they learned on. Right, So it's a generation that is learning digital native straight from the start, and they have adopted

and understand. You also see this sense. I think it's just a broader trend is that I look around at least from just my people that I talk to you see this trend of like economic freedom emerging in the in the in the also the younger generation, Like the traditional way that people have looked at assets and wealth and growth is not necessarily how the younger generation is looking at it, and so the adoption of kind of

trying to find their way of economic freedoms. Right. I was just having this debate with a colleague on like he's you know, he's abating do I buy a house?

Do I not buy house? And he's like, it's just people have even seen like real estate in a different way where traditionally used to be like the foundation you'd have to have a home, and that's what like the you know, the American dream it was, and now it's actually I feel like it's all changing a little bit and how people view the world for how to grow wealth, for how kind of global and accessibility really matters. And so I think these are components and thinking about a

digital first world that everybody is growing into. I mean, you think about your like, at least for me, my phone is the one thing that I know I never am anywhere without and that wasn't true like maybe like ten years ago, like right, So it's amazing how attached we get and how reliant we get on technology and how ingrained it becomes in our lives.

doing an incredible amount of initiatives around and I feel bad asking you this question because we went through so much. But what's on your roadmap for the remainder of year.

So we hope to continue the momentum on all fronts, so from adoption to continued reach and distribution and really just bringing these use cases and utility to the world.

really double down and focus. Otherwise it's easy because like you said, you know, it changes a lot to encryption and there's so many things emerging that you have to like phase your approaches and what do you do first, second, third, and making sure you get some things right before you move on to the next and next thing. So it's definitely something we've thought about. It's something we because it is really really becoming pretty predominant to your point, on

this area of it. But it's it doesn't mean we have to necessarily integrate it ourselves. It's how do you now partner or look at the different players and how could we become a settlement later, like you start to have different conversations. You don't need to build and own everything.

kind of stuck in Senate right now. But let's say we get it through this year or maybe early next year. What impact do you think that will have on the crypto industry.

got to like start applying and thinking about. But the reality is clarity and frameworks actually provide innovation to faster faster in certain cases. It's obviously depending on how and deep the regulation is, but that's what I think is very important. I think in the same way Genius helped on stable coins, I think Clarity will provide the same and so I think it's very important.

some wrap up questions here for you. First, if you could create your own metaverse, what would the theme be.