Dive Brief:
- PayPal discontinued a program last week that let app users set up their own fundraisers, per an Oct. 7 policy change posted on the company’s website. Existing fundraisers, which have allowed app users to ask for donations, will expire at the end of this month.
- Users of the fundraiser tool have until Jan. 12 to move any funds they’ve collected to their personal PayPal account, or the company will do it for them by the following day, the notice said.
- “In a time of prioritization as we look to evolve our PayPal product offerings, we have decided to discontinue the PayPal Fundraisers feature,” a PayPal spokesperson said by email. “We offer many ways for customers to give back to the causes they care about,” the spokesperson added, noting app users can tap the ‘donate’ button to give to any one of a million charities.
Dive Insight:
Paypal CEO Alex Chriss, who was appointed last year, has been seeking to streamline the company’s business. He has said previously that the effort might include eliminating some services or divesting others to focus on priorities.
The PayPal fundraisers have been akin to options offered by the website GoFundMe, another website that lets users showcase their own needs.
The PayPal fundraisers were a way for app users to ask for money that might help them overcome a personal hardship. For instance, one recent fundraiser post asked for support under the heading “'Teenage driving SUV hit me on my motorcycle doing 50 mph.”
PayPal app users have been able to make their fundraisers public and promote them on PayPal, paying a fee to do so. Or they could post them for a limited, select group of people free of charge.
PayPal’s fundraiser tool differs from the company’s other giving options that will remain, including an expansion of services through a partnership with the social media Meta that began in September.
