Payments company Stripe is reportedly weighing a potential acquisition of all or part of rival PayPal Holdings.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, Stripe has held early-stage discussions and expressed preliminary interest in PayPal or certain segments of its business. However, no transaction is assured.
On Tuesday, Stripe said it had reached a $159 billion valuation in a tender offer to shareholders and employees — a 74% increase from a year earlier. The company provides payment acceptance, payout services and financial automation tools for businesses.
Meanwhile, PayPal has reportedly faced mounting competition from smartphone-integrated payment platforms such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Stripe President John Collison told Bloomberg that PayPal has endured a challenging few years as the competitive landscape evolved with the rise of Apple Pay and Google Pay. While declining to comment on specific merger-and-acquisition scenarios, he acknowledged that the company has struggled.
PayPal is also undergoing a leadership transition. Enrique Lores is set to assume the CEO role on March 1 following the departure of Alex Chriss, amid missed earnings expectations and slowing payment volumes.
Shares of PayPal (PYPL) rose 6.74% on Tuesday to close at $47.02, according to Google Finance. Despite the daily gain, the stock has fallen nearly 20% since the start of the year and remains about 85% below its 2021 peak of just over $300.
PayPal and Stripe deepen stablecoin push
PayPal Holdings entered the crypto space in 2020 by enabling US customers to trade digital assets and later launched its own dollar-backed stablecoin, PayPal USD, in 2023. The token has gathered momentum in recent months, with its market capitalization surpassing $4 billion for the first time on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, Stripe has expanded its crypto footprint through its stablecoin infrastructure platform Bridge, which on Feb. 17 received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate as a federally chartered national trust bank.
Stripe initially rolled out stablecoin-based accounts globally in May 2025. A potential merger between the two payments firms could position the combined company as a major force in the rapidly growing stablecoin market.
