PayPal Expands Cross-Border Payments for 2B Users via China & India Wallets
▼ Summary
– PayPal launched PayPal World, a platform partnering with global wallet companies to simplify cross-border commerce by enabling payments through local wallets and systems.
– Key partners include India’s NPCI (UPI), China’s Tenpay (Weixin Pay), and Latin America’s Mercado Pago, with final details still being finalized.
– The platform aims to serve over two billion users globally, allowing PayPal/Venmo users to send money worldwide, even to non-PayPal users.
– PayPal World will launch this fall, with Venmo users gaining offline/online merchant payment capabilities by 2026.
– Transaction volumes of partner wallets are substantial, such as Mercado Pago’s $58.3B Q1 2025 volume and India’s UPI hitting $238B in June 2025.
PayPal has unveiled a groundbreaking global payments initiative designed to connect over two billion users through seamless cross-border transactions. The newly announced PayPal World platform integrates major digital wallets and payment systems from key markets, including China’s Weixin Pay (via Tenpay Global) and India’s UPI (operated by NPCI International). This move aims to simplify international commerce by allowing users to transact directly through their preferred local payment methods.
The platform’s initial partnerships extend beyond Asia, with discussions underway to include Latin America’s Mercado Pago. Once finalized, these collaborations will create one of the most extensive cross-border payment networks, bridging gaps between regional financial ecosystems. Alex Chriss, PayPal’s CEO, emphasized the platform’s potential to transform how money moves globally, calling it a “first-of-its-kind ecosystem” that eliminates traditional barriers for businesses and consumers alike.
For travelers and online shoppers, the implications are significant. A PayPal or Venmo user in the U.S. could pay a vendor in China by scanning a Weixin Pay QR code, while an Indian consumer purchasing from a U.S.-based retailer could complete the transaction via their UPI wallet. The flexibility extends to peer-to-peer transfers, enabling direct payments even if the recipient doesn’t use PayPal.
The scale of these integrated systems is staggering. UPI alone processed over $238 billion in transactions during June 2025, while Mercado Pago reported a quarterly payment volume of $58.3 billion earlier this year. Tenpay Global’s involvement further strengthens the network, with plans to enhance remittance services alongside cross-border payments.
Wenhui Yang, Tenpay Global’s CEO, highlighted the partnership’s role in expanding global wallet accessibility within China, particularly through Weixin Pay QR codes. The platform is slated to launch this fall, with additional features, including offline merchant payments for Venmo users, rolling out in 2026.
By uniting dominant payment players under a single framework, PayPal World could redefine international financial connectivity, offering speed and convenience previously hindered by fragmented systems. The initiative reflects a strategic push to capture emerging markets while addressing the growing demand for frictionless cross-border transactions.
(Source: TechCrunch)
