PayPal to Acquire TIO Networks to Further Democratize Financial Services

"Dramatically improving how underbanked customers are treated when they need access to consumer financial services."

This is the vision statement of TIO Networks, the like-minded technology company that I’m excited to announce that PayPal has agreed to acquire. It is a vision that is entirely consistent with PayPal’s vision to democratize the financial system and enable those who are underserved to improve their financial health.

  TIO gives people who are financially underserved easier and faster ways to pay their bills to help avoid missing payment deadlines, service interruptions and penalties. Bill payment is ripe for innovation, and helping people pay their bills more conveniently is a significant step towards achieving PayPal’s goal of providing essential financial services for our customers. It is fully aligned with our mission to expand access and participation in the financial system for those who have been underserved. We believe that adding TIO to PayPal will accelerate the availability of a service that will improve the financial health of millions of people.   Like PayPal, TIO is guided by a compelling vision to create innovative technology to democratize money and create greater economic opportunity for its customers, which include some of the 24.5 million U.S. households that are financially underserved.*   TIO serves 14 million consumer bill pay accounts**, and processed 60 million transactions in its fiscal 2016 from point-of-sale, kiosk, web and mobile channels. It has a network of more than 10,000 billers, including some of the largest telecom, cable and utility companies in North America. We intend to offer this service within our online and mobile experiences that PayPal customers already trust to manage and move their money.   TIO was founded in 1997 and is led by its visionary founder, Hamed Shahbazi. When TIO’s employees join PayPal, we will increase our Canadian presence, with the addition of TIO’s Vancouver team to the existing PayPal Canada team, which is based in Toronto and located at the MaRS Discovery District, one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs. PayPal Canada is a founding member of the BC Technology Industry Association’s Vancouver FinTech Cluster, and we are excited to enhance our presence in Vancouver’s thriving community of talented technologists and FinTech innovators.   Together, PayPal and TIO envision a future where paying a bill is as simple as PayPal already makes it to send money to friends or buy something online. I’m looking forward to welcoming the talented and inspirational TIO team to the PayPal family.  

TIO Networks chairman and CEO Hamed Shahbazi (left) and John Kunze, vice-president of Xoom, a PayPal service, following the Feb. 14, 2017 announcement that PayPal plans to acquire TIO for $233 million.​
 

The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2017, subject to certain closing conditions, including TIO shareholder approval, expiration or early termination of the applicable pre-merger waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, receipt of certain consents relating to TIO’s money transmitter licenses and court approval in British Columbia, Canada.   *Source: 2015 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households **Consumer bill pay accounts represent the total number of accounts between consumers and billers. A consumer may have a relationship with more than one biller and may have more than one account.   Certain statements in this blog post related to PayPal’s agreement to acquire TIO, including statements related to future plans with respect to the combined companies are “forward-looking statements” that are based on management’s current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties.  Actual results and events may differ materially from those predicted or implied. For additional information, please refer to the joint press release filed today.

Dan Schulman, President and CEO, PayPal