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PayPal's unanswered questions

The week that was

🚨 Deals deals deals

Credit score

Chart of the week

Stripe and Advent International's reported $53 billion bid for PayPal would create one of the payments industry's largest combinations, but the proposed deal leaves several questions unanswered.

Why it matters: The bid looks less like a finished deal plan than an opening offer, with PayPal's eventual ownership and structure still unclear.

Catch up quick: Stripe and Advent reportedly would own PayPal equally, backed by roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing.

Zoom in: A 50-50 ownership split raises questions about who appoints management and how the buyers would resolve disagreements over spending, technology and asset sales.

The financing leaves open how much equity each buyer would contribute, how much debt PayPal could support and whether lenders are assuming future divestitures.

Friction point: Stripe's overlap with PayPal's Braintree merchant-processing business could also bring regulatory scrutiny and make some assets strategically redundant.

State of play: Analysts see Stripe as more interested in PayPal's consumer businesses, including Venmo, while Advent may be drawn to its merchant assets, cash flow and balance sheet.

But William Blair's Andrew Jeffrey questioned whether owning half of slower-growing PayPal even makes industrial sense for Stripe.

The bottom line: Until Stripe and Advent explain the governance, financing and long-term ownership of PayPal's businesses, the proposal raises more questions than it answers.

1 big thing: PayPal's unanswered questions

Illustration of question marks made of money pattern.

This week brought big-money moves across fintech, from Stripe and Advent's reported bid for PayPal to fresh funding for digital banking and compliance startups. Meanwhile, crypto legislation hit another roadblock in Washington.

🏦 Digital banking startup Lumin Digital raised over $115 million at a $1.6 billion valuation, including $70 million from its clients. Go deeper

🔎 Financial compliance startup Hadrius raised $22 million to monitor electronic communications, marketing materials, employee trades and client-account activity. Go deeper

₿ The landmark Clarity Act is stuck in the Senate over a provision seeking to address President Trump's business ties to the industry. Go deeper

2. The week that was

Illustration of a row of laptops with binary code, money and circles.

👉 GO HERE TO CATCH UP on all the fintech deals this week.

Crypto.com, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, said Citadel Securities made a $400m investment in the company at a $20b valuation. Go deeper

Alpaca, an embedded trading startup, raised $135m in extended Series D funding. Peak XV led. Elefund, Opera Tech Ventures, and Unbound joined. Go deeper

Citation Capital, a Dallas-based private equity firm, raised $1.2b for its debut fund. citation.capital

3. 🚨 Deals deals deals

Illustration of two hands shaking with sleeves made from calculators.

🏦 Revolut plans to launch its full U.S. banking services in 2027. (Tech.eu)

📈 JPMorgan is poised to become the world's first $1 trillion bank. (Reuters)

🪙 Visa launched a new platform to provide stablecoin services. (Fortune)

💳 Visa will also begin piloting an AI financial assistant for banking apps. (PYMNTS)

₿ Etrade rolled out crypto trading to all U.S. clients through a partnership with Zerohash. (Barron's)

🇬🇧 The U.K.'s FCA began regulating buy now, pay later providers. (MoneyWeek)

4. Credit score

Illustration of a referee's hand holding a whistle and a red card that says "credit score."

Data: Financial Modeling Prep; Chart: Ryan Lawler/Axios

PayPal shares surged this week after news of the Stripe-Advent bid, clawing back much of a yearlong slide. 

Yes, but: PayPal is still trading well below the reported $60.50-per-share offer, reflecting investor skepticism that the bid will close.

5. Chart of the week

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July 18, 2026

1 big thing: PayPal's unanswered questions