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
Image used with permission by copyright holder
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…
Samsung is eyeing smart glasses that could shake up the market
A person wearing the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Samsung is ready to take a stab at another wearable segment, less than a year after introducing its first smart ring. A Shenzhen-based research company, Wellsen XR, shared in an investor note Samsung’s plans to launch smart glasses that could arrive late next year or early in 2026. 

“Samsung Electronics' plan to release AI smart glasses was confirmed earlier this month, and its first production volume is 500,000 units in the third quarter of 2025,” says the note, which was reported by Maeil Business Newspaper.

Read more
I compared Apple’s and Samsung’s AI photo editing tools. There’s a clear winner
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen.

Apple has joined the AI game with Apple Intelligence, finally catching up to its competitors in that department. And with the iOS 18.1 update in October, most people who have a compatible iPhone can finally use those Apple Intelligence tools, including Clean Up.

The Clean Up tool in the Photos app is basically Apple’s version of Google’s Magic Eraser or Samsung’s Object Eraser. Back when I compared Magic Eraser and Object Eraser, Samsung’s tool was the better of the two. So, how does Apple’s Clean Up compare? Let’s find out.
The limitations of object removal tools

Read more
Cyber Week smartwatch deals 2024: Apple, Samsung, Garmin
A widget of the Vitals app in watchOS 11 on the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are some of the best periods to snag yourself a new smartwatch, and with each now officially behind us, the Cyber Week period has started. There are so many Cyber Week deals that you can take advantage of, including on some of the best smartwatches on the market. We've collected some of our favorite deals for you below, although it's also worth keeping an eye on our larger smartwatch deals roundup as well. There is also our more specific Cyber Week Apple Watch deals roundup if you're looking for those specifically.
Our Top Pick: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic -- $250 $430 42% off

The Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic is easily one of the best Android phones on the market. In fact, when our senior mobile writer Andy Boxall got his hands on it, he felt that “the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic has superb styling, all-day comfort, comprehensive health tracking, and more. It's the smartwatch to buy for your Android phone.” Even better, this deal lets you snag it for a substantial 40% discount.

Read more