The firm is creating a new platform to directly handle shipments on behalf of retailers who use PayPal to sell their products on online marketplaces—like eBay and Etsy—in Canada and the U.S. Through netParcel, PayPal claims to be able to ship goods to the U.S. in one day. (BetaKit)
Talking point: This is part of PayPal’s recent expansion in Canada. Since 2017, it has snapped up TIO Networks and Hyperwallet, two Canadian fintech firms in the digital-payment space. In 2018, the company brought its subsidiary Xoom, an international money transfer service, to Canada, allowing Canadians to send up to $12,500 to countries around the world in a single transaction. It also introduced a collaboration with Visa, allowing users to move funds between PayPal and eligible Visa debit cards. Its most recent move helps the firm stake its claim in the e-commerce shipping business in North America, which has long been dominated by Amazon through its Prime membership service. Amazon has recently faced more competition, however. In June, Purolator announced plans to build a 60-acre distribution centre to triple its package-delivery capacity. And, earlier that month, Shopify said it will launch fulfillment centres across the U.S. to get its merchants’ orders to customers within two days.