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The digital wallet would help eBay customers use their sales proceeds to either pay the selling fees or purchase items from the marketplace.
The multinational e-commerce company eBay presented its digital wallet on a slide at the 2022 Investor Day. Although the company’s CEO Jamie Iannone has been hinting at the inclusion of crypto-based payment options for some time now, the digital wallet due in Q2 is a positive sign of the company’s adoption of blockchain technology. The online marketplace has already been transacting NFTs on its platform and the CEO had made it clear in a February interview to TheStreet that the company wants to attract the attention of millennials and the Gen-Z generation through cryptocurrency.
What will the Digital Wallet Do?
Digital wallets, in general, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, are software programs that contain information on payment details. While the mentioned examples are primarily credit and debit card-based, the crypto-based wallets will store private keys that will help crypto owners make payments in BTC or other compatible digital currencies. According to the press release, the digital wallet would help eBay’s existing customers use their sales proceeds to either pay the selling fees or purchase items from the marketplace. The service is associated with eBay Managed Payments and will help eBay win back the confidence of its long-time sellers who do not think eBay’s payment ecosystem offers the convenience someone like PayPal would offer.
Other Key Takeaways from the 2022 Investor Day
- For the year 2023, eBay expects GMV growth to be about 3-4%, profits to increase by 10% and revenue to swell by 5-6%.
- Apart from the digital wallet, eBay also launched the eBay Vault, which is a secure storage facility and digital marketplace for cards and collectibles. The 31,000 sq ft. vault will be extended for luxury goods too as per the press release.
- The company also used the virtual event to announce its $20 billion in value for shareholders created through the sale of eBay’s StubHub ticket-reselling unit and its classified ads as well as Korean retail businesses.
- The company stated the return of $13 billion to shareholders in the form of buybacks and dividends since the start of 2020.
- eBay also mentioned the creation of its $1 billion advertising business as well as the in-house payment-processing platform.
eBay is a California-based online marketplace that acts as a facilitator for consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales, thus connecting buyers and sellers at a global level. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, the company operations look after the eBay website that allows people and enterprises to trade goods and services across the world. While buyers do not need to pay any additional fee for using the website, the company charges sellers a selling fee once they avail of all their free listings both before and after the good or service is sold.