PayPal just scored the deal that sent its stock soaring 14% in premarket trading. The payments giant signed an exclusive agreement with OpenAI over the weekend to embed its digital wallet directly into ChatGPT, making it the first major payments provider to crack into the AI commerce revolution that's reshaping how 700 million users shop online.
PayPal just pulled off what might be the most important fintech deal of the year. The company's exclusive agreement with OpenAI to integrate its digital wallet into ChatGPT sent shares rocketing 14% in premarket trading as investors finally see the AI commerce revolution taking shape.
The deal, sealed over the weekend and exclusively reported by CNBC, positions PayPal as the payments backbone for what CEO Alex Chriss calls "agentic commerce" - AI-powered shopping that feels more like having a personal shopper than browsing websites.
"We've got hundreds of millions of loyal PayPal wallet holders who now will be able to click the 'Buy with PayPal button' on ChatGPT and have a safe and secure checkout experience," Chriss told CNBC in an exclusive interview.
The timing couldn't be better for PayPal. While traditional e-commerce growth slows, OpenAI is rapidly transforming ChatGPT from a chat tool into a shopping destination for its 700 million weekly users. Last month, the AI company added Shopify and Etsy merchants to its platform, and two weeks ago it announced a major partnership with Walmart.
But PayPal's integration goes deeper than previous deals. Starting next year, both sides of PayPal's ecosystem plug into ChatGPT - users can shop through the AI platform while PayPal merchants can sell directly there with their inventory automatically listed. It's like having Amazon's marketplace meet personal shopping AI, with PayPal handling all the financial plumbing.
"It's a whole new paradigm for shopping," Chriss said. "It's hard to imagine that agentic commerce isn't going to be a big part of the future."
The market reaction suggests investors agree. PayPal's 14% surge represents billions in added market value, signaling Wall Street believes the company has positioned itself perfectly for the AI commerce wave. The stock had been struggling this year as competition from and other digital wallets intensified, but this OpenAI partnership changes the game entirely.