PayPal Hires Expert To Expand Its Stock-Trading Platform For US Customers

PayPal has recently hired TradeKing co-founder Richard Hagen to manage a new unit at the company called Invest at PayPal as the company “explores” the idea of allowing its users to trade individual stocks in the US.

Hagan talked about his new job on his LinkedIn profile, saying  that he is “Leading PayPal’s efforts to explore opportunities in the consumer investment business.”

The outlet reports PayPal has also had discussions with potential brokerage partners.

The company has spent much of the last year expanding into the cryptocurrency market.

Speaking at CoinDesk's Consensus 2021 virtual conference held in May, PayPal vice president and general manager for blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies, Jose Fernandez da said during an interview that the company is working to enable its customers to trade with their crypto the way they want to.

“We want to make it as open as possible, and we want to give choice to our consumers, something that will let them pay in any way they want to pay. They want to bring their crypto to us so they can use it in commerce, and we want them to be able to take the crypto they acquired with us and take it to the destination of their choice."

CNBC reports PayPal is unlikely to roll out the service this year. And if the company decides it wants to operate as its own brokerage firm, it would need approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). That’s a process that can take more than eight months.