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Paypal CEO Dan Schulman has suggested the use of digital wallets to distribute stimulus payments in the US. The technology was highlighted during an investor call by Schulman after PayPal released its Q2 earnings report.
Currently, the US government employs paper checks and other dated technologies to disburse the stimulus. Schulman argued that instead of these time-consuming approaches, the administration should consider digital wallets.
PayPal CEO Wants Government to Consider Digital Wallets for Stimulus Payouts
On Thursday, PayPal leader Dan Schulman voiced his support for the digitization of transactions in the US economy. He talked about digital wallets, CBDCs, and the state of traditional financial institutions.
Schulman proposed that the US government should embrace digital wallets to lower the cost of transferring stimulus funds for both the sender and the recipients.
“Imagine not having to send out stimulus checks but sending those directly into a digital wallet where you instantaneously receive it, and you don’t have to go to a check cash-in location and exchange that and get charged for that exchange,” Schulman stated.
The business executive also mentioned the efforts being made across the world to develop a working CBDC, which can benefit millions of Americans excluded from the current system. Schulman posited that implementing a payments system powered by digital wallets could resolve the issues that affect these people.
He also talked about the state of the country’s banking system and criticized the pace of traditional transfers. To elaborate on his point, Schulman narrated a recent experience with an institution that told him it would take three days to access the money through an electronic funds transfer (EFT).
PayPal’s Interest in Future Technology
Although Schulman’s criticism of the American banking system is valid, it’s hard to view his argument in isolation. The fact that PayPal is developing is its own digital wallet and offers services to trade and transact cryptocurrencies indicates that Schulman has stakes in the future growth of the payment sector.
The company is also in discussions with central banks as it seeks a more important role in the evolution of financial infrastructure over the next few years.
Meanwhile, Coinbase, Square, and Robinhood are also developing their own digital wallets, which would compete against PayPal and provide people with a gateway to the new digital economic system.