PayPal Has Recently Announced a New Program for Up-and-Coming Startup Merchants.
The program which involves partnerships with investment and incubator firms will offer mentoring and personalized customer service, and most notably, a waiver of $50,000 in processing fees for eligible merchants.
To qualify for PayPal’s new startup program, the startup firms must be developing web or mobile solutions, must be less than 5 years old, and must have a yearly income of less than $3 million. The new venture seems to be beneficial for both the investing partners and the up-and-coming startups. PayPal will be offering “VIP” treatment to eligible companies, offering all-star service and mentorship from currently 3 participating partners.
The companies that have partnered with PayPal are London-based Accelerator Seedcamp, California- based early-stage seed fund investor 500 Startups, and Israel-based incubator, Elevator. These partners will be the ones responsible for nominating eligible startups for PayPal’s program. PayPal themselves will also be handpicking the startups, and will be sending out invitations to qualifying companies.
The $50,000 fee waiver seems to be the anchor of the project, as PayPal is more preferred for their end-user functionality in comparison to their merchant services and current fees and rates. With the partnering companies it also seems that PayPal is directing itself into building new companies and brands while associating the PayPal name to them.
Nothing is reported as yet on what fees will apply after the $50,000 waiver, but most likely it will be their current 2.7% processing fee. We will be updating on the companies that PayPal selects for the program once they are announced.
