Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

PayPal was going to partner with Apple Pay, but then it cozied up to Samsung

By

Apple Pay
Hell hath no fury like Apple scorned. Apple and Paypal were reportedly in talks to add PayPal as a preferred partner to Apple Pay, but then eBay’s CEO John Donahoe aligned PayPal with Samsung instead. Just as PayPal’s former president David Marcus predicted, Apple immediately shut PayPal out of Apple Pay indefinitely. Now, PayPal is one of the only big players in the mobile payment space that isn’t a part of Apple Pay.

Sources familiar with the negotiations between Apple and PayPal told Bank Innovation that PayPal was among the first companies Cupertino contacted when it began work on Apple Pay. Apparently, the two companies were close to working out a deal and even perhaps establishing a preferred partnership, when eBay’s Donahoe pushed PayPal into a deal with Samsung. PayPal’s Marcus was said to be against the deal because he feared it would damage the company’s relationship with Apple.

Recommended Videos
Related

Needless to say, his advice was ignored and PayPal joined forces with Apple’s known rival, Samsung on the company’s fingerprint scanner for the Galaxy S5 smartphone. One source told the publication that as soon as Apple got wind of the deal, it  “kicked them out of the door.” Marcus later left PayPal for Facebook and now eBay says it will spin Paypal off into a separate company.

Ever since Apple Pay was unveiled in September, PayPal has been aggressively campaigning against the new mobile payments service. It recently launched an ad campaign, in which it said PayPal stands for the people who “want our money safer than our selfies.” The ad refers to the Apple iCloud scandal in which nude photos of prominent celebrities leaked all over the Internet.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Malarie Gokey
Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
A highly requested Apple Card feature finally went live today
Apple Card sitting on top of an iPhone 14 Pro with the Wallet app open to digital Apple Card

After total radio silence when it came to the Apple Card high-yield savings account following its initial announcement in October 2022, Apple finally launched the service today for all Apple Card holders.

The Apple Card Savings account gives Apple Card users a personal Goldman Sachs savings account that can hold Daily Cash and be used to transfer funds to and from other bank accounts. Essentially, the service functions to give users another way to manage their finances in conjunction with their Apple Card.

Read more
I replaced my Apple Watch with a Garmin — and I don’t want to go back
Apple Watch Series 7 next to the Garmin Forerunner 265.

The Apple Watch has been my go-to wearable for years. I began my journey with the Apple Watch Series 1 in 2017, upgraded to the Apple Watch Series 4 shortly after it launched, and then jumped to the Apple Watch Series 7 in 2021. It's long been my smartwatch platform of choice, and I've never had any desire to switch to something else.

At least, that's what I thought before I began using a Garmin smartwatch. I started testing the Garmin Forerunner 265 earlier this year, and I went into it with a pretty clear plan: I'd wear the watch for a couple of weeks, write my review, and move back to the Apple Watch. Fast forward to now, and my Garmin Forerunner 265 review has been published, no further testing is required, and nothing is stopping me from returning to my Apple Watch. But here's the thing — I don't want to. Garmin's watch is so good that I have no desire to put the Apple Watch back on my wrist, and there are a few big reasons why.
The surprising importance of buttons

Read more
No, you can’t use an Apple gift card on Apple Pay
Photo of Apple gift cards.

A viral TikTok has made the internet rounds, showing a person who thought that they could transfer Apple gift card funds to Apple Pay. After buying a $300 Apple gift card, however, they quickly learned that that's simply not possible. While their choice might seem misguided in hindsight, there are plenty of people who have been left confused about the differences between Apple gift cards and Apple Pay.

While having a $300 Apple gift card certainly has its uses — such as buying 10 years of Apple Music, as the original poster jokingly pointed out — it's certainly not the same as having that same money to spend freely with Apple Pay. To avoid making the same mistake as this TikTok user, make sure that you understand the distinctions between the two Apple services, as it might just save you $300 (or more).
You cannot add Apple gift cards to Apple Pay

Read more