Paypal is one of the largest online payment processors and money transfer services in the world. They are an online payment processor for businesses and individuals. They provide an easy and secure way to send payments to friends, family, and businesses. They operate in 202 countries around the world and payments can be made in 25 different currencies. PayPal is often considered the company that really made e-commerce possible on the web.

Paypal began as a money transfer service in 1999 owned by Cofinity. Cofinity was a security software company that focused on handheld devices. PayPal found early success as an escrow service in the growing online auction market, especially eBay. A user could pay with their credit card and after receiving the merchandise, a payment would be sent to the seller. In the early days, these were checks from Paypal.

By 2000, they merged with X.com which an online banking company first founded by Elon Musk. He saw the potential of PayPal as a service and in October 2000, he made the decision to close up with X.com bank and focus entirely on PayPal. By 2001, the company was renamed as PayPal.

In 2002, PayPal had grown so much that it had its first IPO. After its IPO, it was quickly bought by eBay for more than £1 billion. It was a natural purchase since PayPal handled the payments for more than 70% of the auctions. After being acquired, PayPal became the de facto standard method of payment on eBay and by extension many other online purchases.

In 2015, eBay spun off PayPal once again as an independent company so that its value could be more easily captured and it could tap into opportunities that it couldn’t when it was an eBay subsidiary. It was valued at this second IPO at more than £30 billion.

PayPal works very simply. Basically, users sign up for an account at the PayPal website. They can enter their credit card, debit card or bank account numbers. PayPal securely stores this information on its servers. The system makes it very easy to send and receive money for just about anyone in just about any country.

When a user wants to purchase or send money using their PayPal account, the merchant will redirect them to the PayPal website where the user will enter their email address and password. After approving the purchase on the PayPal site, they will be redirected to the merchant site and the purchase is completed. It takes just seconds to complete the transaction and no credit card, debit card, or bank account information is shared.

Users can also maintain a balance in their PayPal account and use the balance to pay for their purchases in the same way. Balances in their account can also be transferred to their bank account and in some places their credit or debit card. This allows for very easy withdrawal of money.

PayPal isn’t the only online money transfer service and payment processor, but it is one of the largest. Of course, most people do use their Visa and Mastercard credit/debit cards online, but for those using a wallet type provider, PayPal is the largest. Two other competitors are out there and deserve to be mentioned.

Skrill is probably the second largest PayPal alternative that works with online casinos. They were founded in 2001 in the UK as Moneybookers. They grew quickly as an alternative to Paypal in the online auction and online payment industry. In 2011, they announced they were changing their name to Skrill. They were acquired in 2015 by the Paysafe Group.

Neteller is also owned by the PaySafe Group but is managed as a separate company from Skrill. It was founded in 2000 in Canada but soon after moved to the Isle of Man. While Skrill was focused more on online payments, Neteller focused heavily on the online gaming industry. In fact, in 2006, it had revenues of more than £100 million and had captured 80% of the online gaming payment market. After a crackdown on online gaming by the US government, revenue plummeted. With revenue of more than £70 million, it’s still a major player in online payments.

Paypal is in a class all by itself and as it increases its exposure in the online gaming industry, players will benefit from the stability and financial strength of a company that is focused on protecting customers and making online payments more secure. As more and more casinos accept Paypal, it will become a mark of security in the industry.