| Commitments and Contingencies | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, approximately $3.8 billion and $3.0 billion, respectively, of unused credit was available to PayPal Credit account holders. Substantially all of our PayPal Credit account holders with unused credit are in the U.K. While this amount represents the total unused credit available, we have not experienced, and do not anticipate, that all our PayPal Credit account holders will access their entire available credit at any given point in time. In addition, the individual lines of credit that make up this unused credit are subject to periodic review and termination based on, among other things, account usage and customer creditworthiness. LITIGATION AND REGULATORY MATTERS Overview We are involved in legal and regulatory proceedings on an ongoing basis. Many of these proceedings are in early stages and may seek an indeterminate amount of damages or penalties or may require us to change or adopt certain business practices. If we believe that a loss arising from such matters is probable and can be reasonably estimated, we accrue the estimated liability in our financial statements at that time. If only a range of estimated losses can be determined, we accrue an amount within the range that, in our judgment, reflects the most likely outcome; if none of the estimates within that range is a better estimate than any other amount, we accrue the low end of the range. For those proceedings in which an unfavorable outcome is reasonably possible but not probable, we have disclosed an estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of losses or we have concluded that an estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of losses arising directly from the proceeding (i.e., monetary damages or amounts paid in judgment or settlement) are not material. If we cannot estimate the probable or reasonably possible loss or range of losses arising from a legal proceeding, we have disclosed that fact. In assessing the materiality of a legal proceeding, we evaluate, among other factors, the amount of monetary damages claimed, as well as the potential impact of non-monetary remedies sought by plaintiffs (e.g., injunctive relief) that may require us to change our business practices in a manner that could have a material adverse impact on our business. With respect to the matters disclosed in this Note 13, we are unable to estimate the possible loss or range of losses that could potentially result from the application of such non-monetary remedies. Amounts accrued for legal and regulatory proceedings for which we believe a loss is probable and reasonably estimable were not material as of September 30, 2021. Except as otherwise noted for the proceedings described in this Note 13, we have concluded, based on currently available information, that reasonably possible losses arising directly from the proceedings (i.e., monetary damages or amounts paid in judgment or settlement) in excess of our recorded accruals are also not material. Determining legal reserves or possible losses from such matters involves judgment and may not reflect the full range of uncertainties and unpredictable outcomes. We may be exposed to losses in excess of the amount recorded, and such amounts could be material. If any of our estimates and assumptions change or prove to have been incorrect, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. Regulatory proceedings We are required to comply with U.S. economic and trade sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). In March 2015, we reached a settlement with OFAC regarding possible violations arising from our sanctions compliance practices between 2009 and 2013, prior to the implementation of our real-time transaction scanning program. Subsequently, we have self-reported additional transactions that were inadvertently processed but subsequently identified as possible violations, and we have received new subpoenas from OFAC seeking additional information about certain of these transactions. Such self-reported transactions could result in claims or actions against us, including litigation, injunctions, damage awards, fines or penalties, or require us to change our business practices in a manner that could result in a material loss, require significant management time, result in the diversion of significant operational resources, or otherwise harm our business. PayPal Australia Pty Limited (“PPAU”) self-reported a potential violation to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (“AUSTRAC”) on May 22, 2019. This self-reported matter relates to PPAU incorrectly filing required international funds transfer instructions (“IFTIs”) over a period of time under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (“AML/CTF Act”). On September 23, 2019, PPAU received a notice from AUSTRAC requiring that PPAU appoint an external auditor (a partner of a firm which is not our independent auditor) to review certain aspects of PPAU’s compliance with its obligations under the AML/CTF Act. The external auditor was appointed on November 1, 2019. As required under the terms of AUSTRAC’s notice, as amended, PPAU issued to AUSTRAC the external auditor’s interim reports on December 31, 2019, March 13, 2020, May 6, 2020 and July 7, 2020 and a final report on August 31, 2020. AUSTRAC has notified PPAU that its enforcement team is investigating the matters reported upon by the external auditor in its August 31, 2020 final report. AUSTRAC continues to engage with PPAU regarding the transaction categories it considers reportable under the AML/CTF Act as IFTIs. PPAU is continuing to cooperate with AUSTRAC in all respects, including remediation activities, ongoing regular engagement with AUSTRAC, and responding to notices and requests for information and documents. We cannot estimate the potential impact, if any, on our business or financial statements at this time. In the event an adverse outcome arises from any associated enforcement proceeding or other further matter initiated by AUSTRAC, including in relation to AUSTRAC’s determination of reportable IFTIs, then this could result in enforceable undertakings, injunctions, damage awards, fines or penalties, or require us to change our business practices in a manner that could result in a material loss, require significant management time, result in the diversion of significant operational resources, or otherwise harm our business. We have received Civil Investigative Demands (“CIDs”) from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) related to Venmo’s unauthorized funds transfers and collections processes, and related matters. The CIDs request the production of documents and answers to written questions. We are cooperating with the CFPB in connection with these CIDs. We have received a CID from the CFPB related to the marketing and use of PayPal Credit in connection with certain merchants that provide educational services (the “CFPB PayPal Credit Matter”). The CID requests the production of documents, written reports, and answers to written questions. We are cooperating with the CFPB in connection with this CID. We are responding to subpoenas and requests for information received from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Enforcement Division relating to whether the interchange rates paid to the bank that issues debit cards bearing our licensed brands were consistent with Regulation II of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and to the reporting of marketing fees earned from the Company’s branded card program (the “SEC Debit Card Program Matter”). We are cooperating with the SEC Enforcement Division in connection with this investigation. Legal proceedings On August 20, 2021, a putative securities class action captioned Kang v. PayPal Holdings, Inc., et al. , Case No. 21-cv-06468, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Securities Action”). The Securities Action asserts claims relating to our disclosure of the CFPB PayPal Credit Matter and the SEC Debit Card Program Matter in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2021 (for further information, see “Litigation and Regulatory Matters – Regulatory Proceedings” above). The Securities Action purports to be brought on behalf of purchasers of the Company’s stock between February 9, 2017 and July 28, 2021 (the “Class Period”), and asserts claims for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company, its Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. The complaint alleges that certain public statements made by the Company during the Class period were rendered materially false and misleading (which, allegedly, caused the Company’s stock to trade at artificially inflated prices) by the defendants’ failure to disclose that, among other things, PayPal’s business practices with respect to PayPal Credit and regarding interchange rates paid to its bank partner related to its bank-issued co-branded debit cards were non-compliant with applicable laws and/or regulations. The Securities Action seeks unspecified compensatory damages on behalf of the putative class members. General matters Other third parties have from time to time claimed, and others may claim in the future, that we have infringed their intellectual property rights. We are subject to patent disputes and expect that we will increasingly be subject to additional patent infringement claims involving various aspects of our business as our products and services continue to expand in scope and complexity. Such claims may be brought directly or indirectly against our companies and/or against our customers (who may be entitled to contractual indemnification under their contracts with us), and we are subject to increased exposure to such claims as a result of our acquisitions, particularly in cases where we are introducing new products or services in connection with such acquisitions. We have in the past been forced to litigate such claims, and we believe that additional lawsuits alleging such claims will be filed against us. Intellectual property claims, whether meritorious or not, are time-consuming and costly to defend and resolve, could require expensive changes in our methods of doing business, or could require us to enter into costly royalty or licensing agreements on unfavorable terms or make substantial payments to settle claims or to satisfy damages awarded by courts. From time to time, we are involved in other disputes or regulatory inquiries that arise in the ordinary course of business, including suits by our customers (individually or as class actions) alleging, among other things, improper disclosure of our prices, rules, or policies, that our practices, prices, rules, policies, or customer/user agreements violate applicable law, or that we have acted unfairly and/or not acted in conformity with such prices, rules, policies, or agreements. In addition to these types of disputes and regulatory inquiries, our operations are also subject to regulatory and/or legal review and/or challenges that may reflect the increasing global regulatory focus to which the payments industry is subject and, when taken as a whole with other regulatory and legislative action, such actions could result in the imposition of costly new compliance burdens on our business and customers and may lead to increased costs and decreased transaction volume and revenue. Further, the number and significance of these disputes and inquiries are increasing as our business has grown and expanded in scale and scope, including the number of active accounts and payments transactions on our platforms, the range and increasing complexity of the products and services that we offer, and our geographical operations. Any claims or regulatory actions against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time consuming, result in costly litigation, settlement payments, damage awards (including statutory damages for certain causes of action in certain jurisdictions), fines, penalties, injunctive relief, or increased costs of doing business through adverse judgment or settlement, require us to change our business practices in expensive ways, require significant amounts of management time, result in the diversion of significant operational resources, or otherwise harm our business. INDEMNIFICATION PROVISIONS Our agreements with eBay governing our separation from eBay provide for specific indemnity and liability obligations for both eBay and us. Disputes between eBay and us have arisen and others may arise in the future, and an adverse outcome in such matters could materially and adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, the indemnity rights we have against eBay under the agreements may not be sufficient to protect us, and our indemnity obligations to eBay may be significant. In the ordinary course of business, we include indemnification provisions in certain of our agreements with parties with whom we have commercial relationships. Under these contracts, we generally indemnify, hold harmless, and agree to reimburse the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party in connection with claims by any third party with respect to our domain names, trademarks, logos, and other branding elements to the extent that such marks are related to the subject agreement. We have provided an indemnity for other types of third-party claims, which are indemnities related primarily to intellectual property rights, confidentiality, willful misconduct, data privacy obligations, and certain breach of contract claims. We have also provided an indemnity to our payments processors in the event of card association fines against the processor arising out of conduct by us or our customers. It is not possible to determine the maximum potential loss under these indemnification provisions due to our limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular situation. PayPal has participated in the U.S. Government’s Paycheck Protection Program administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Loans made under this program are funded by an independent chartered financial institution that we partner with. We receive a fee for providing origination services and loan servicing for these loans and retain operational risk related to those activities. We have agreed, under certain circumstances, to provide indemnities in connection with the services provided for loans made under this program. To date, no significant costs have been incurred, either individually or collectively, in connection with our indemnification provisions. OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, or capital resources. PROTECTION PROGRAMS We provide merchants and consumers with protection programs for certain transactions completed on our Payments Platform. These programs are intended to protect both merchants and consumers from loss primarily due to fraud and counterparty performance. Our buyer protection program provides protection to consumers for qualifying purchases by reimbursing the consumer for the full amount of the purchase if a purchased item does not arrive or does not match the seller’s description. Our seller protection programs provide protection to merchants against claims that a transaction was not authorized by the buyer or claims that an item was not received by covering the seller for the full amount of the payment on eligible sales. These protection programs are considered assurance-type warranties under applicable accounting standards for which we estimate and record associated costs in transaction and credit losses during the period the payment transaction is completed. At September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the allowance for transaction losses was $104 million and $144 million, respectively. The allowance for negative customer balances was $283 million and $270 million at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. The following table shows changes in the allowance for transaction losses and negative customer balances related to our protection programs for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020: Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 (in millions) Beginning balance $ 366 $ 373 $ 414 $ 399 Provision 293 329 847 847 Realized losses (313) (280) (964) (863) Recoveries 41 22 90 61 Ending balance $ 387 $ 444 $ 387 $ 444 |
