Inside the PYUSD's takeover of PayPal with May Zabaneh, VP Crypto
In this conversation, May Zabaneh breaks down PayPal’s move into stablecoins with PYUSD and why it matters for financial inclusion. We explore how PYUSD could lower costs for cross-border payments, deliver faster settlement, and plug directly into PayPal’s existing ecosystem. The discussion covers why PayPal built a proprietary stablecoin, early adoption and real-world use cases, and plans for international expansion. We also examine the role merchants play in crypto acceptance, how DeFi and traditional finance are converging, and why interoperability will be essential in the next phase of digital payments. Chapters 00:00 PayPal’s Vision for Stablecoins 02:47 Why PYUSD? Rationale and Goals 05:18 Stablecoin Advantages: 24/7, Inclusion, Cross‑Border 08:22 Why Proprietary vs Supporting Others 11:06 Unlocking B2B and Rebuilding On‑Chain 12:20 PYUSD in the PayPal/Venmo Ecosystem 14:21 International Expansion and Global Transfers 17:02 Merchant Fit: Categories, Costs, Declines 19:32 User Segments: Crypto‑Curious to Super Users 23:28 Pay with Crypto: Scaling to Larger Merchants 29:38 PYUSD in DeFi: Open and Multi‑Chain 32:01 Liquidity, Partnerships, and the Three Pillars 35:56 Interoperability and Evolving Roles 39:11 AI x Payments: Agent‑Driven Commerce 40:42 Finding the Flywheel, What’s Next