Luxembourg Prime Minister, Minister of Communications and Media, Xavier Bettel, met yesterday with the new CEOs of PayPal and PayPal Europe to discuss the new activities that the company could develop in Luxembourg following its separation from eBay.
The Prime Minister held a meeting with Dan Schulman, the new CEO of Paypal, and Rupert Keeley, CEO of PayPal Europe, to discuss the relations between the online payment system and the Grand Duchy. PayPal was founded in 1998 in San José, California, establishing its European headquarters in Luxembourg in 2005. PayPal is one of the world's largest internet payment companies and holds a Luxembourg banking license for European operations, employing around 90 members of staff in the Grand Duchy.
In 2002, PayPal became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay, before the two were separated into two independent publicly traded companies earlier this year, with eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe stating that "keeping eBay and PayPal together beyong 2015 clearly becomes less advantageous to each business strategically and competitively. The industry landscape is changing, and each business faces different competitive opportunities and challenges".
During yesterday's meeting, Prime Minister Bettel emphasised Luxembourg's commitment to innovation through the use of technologies, commenting "Luxembourg is proud of its world-class financial centre. PayPal is a company whose success is closely linked to innovation and is therefore a key player in the diversification of the financial sector and we are proud of its presence in Luxembourg".
Photo by ME (L-R: Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal; Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of Communications and Media)
