PayPal Processes Record-Breaking $185 Million On GivingTuesday

PayPal Holdings, Inc. said on Wednesday (Dec. 9) that it processed a record-breaking $185 million around the world this GivingTuesday, which was the most raised on its platform for the worldwide day of giving as of the event’s start in 2012, according to an announcement.

Over 1.75 million clients of PayPal throughout 198 markets contributed to causes they care about, totaling more than 2 million donations overall, with a 40 percent jump in donations processed in contrast to last year, according to the announcement.

“We are moved and inspired by the generosity of our PayPal community, as millions of our customers turn to our platform to give to the causes they care about,” Franz Paasche, SVP, Corporate Affairs, PayPal, said in the announcement. “Despite the considerable challenges of this year, our customers and communities joined together to give back when it matters most, contributing more than they ever have in the history of GivingTuesday.”

Over half of charitable groups in the U.S. foresee raising less funds than they did last year due to the financial challenges that companies and individuals throughout the nation have faced as of the beginning of the pandemic, according to the announcement.

PayPal has provided clients with a formidable Giving infrastructure that lets them contribute year-round through different methods such as donating with the PayPal Giving Fund to aid in mitigating this pressure on charities. The company is among the biggest online donation platforms in the world, as it supports over 600,000 nonprofits with fundraising, according to the announcement.

PayPal has also announced improvements to its Giving technology this year to provide further methods for its customer community to contribute and help the causes they care about via the debut of the Generosity Network, which was inspired by the increase in popularity of peer-to-peer crowdfunding during the pandemic.

Last year, PayPal processed more than $10 billion in charitable contributions, a record and the first time that number exceeded the ten-figure territory. A complete 10 percent of that — more than $1 billion — was contributed just during the month of December, marking another first for the payment-processing company, as noted in January 2020.