PayPal May Be Gearing Up To Take On Robinhood In A Major Way

The GameStop hype got a new generation of people interested in trading, fueling the popularity of simple platforms like Robinhood that make it easy to buy and sell stocks. It's perhaps no surprise, then, that PayPal appears to be gearing up to launch its own Robinhood competitor, one that would join its relatively new crypto support.

The details come from insiders who recently spoke with CNBC; they allege that PayPal is looking into allowing its users to trade individual stocks. The upcoming option, assuming it becomes an official product, may be known as 'Invest at PayPal,' a division of the company that recently brought in brokerage industry expert Rich Hagen as CEO.

This isn't the first time rumor has surfaced that PayPal may launch a stock trading platform. Back in February, the financial company's CEO indicated PayPal may explore 'investment capabilities' as one of its long-term visions for the company's future. The move would arguably be necessary to stay relevant among its most notable competitors.

Square, for example, offers both cryptocurrency and stock trading through its popular Cash App, whereas PayPal offers its users limited cryptocurrency features. Then, of course, there are bigger players in the 'simplified investing' market, namely Robinhood which saw notable controversy amid the trading frenzy involving meme stocks.

PayPal hasn't confirmed the insiders' leak, instead pointing CNBC to the company's statements back in February. The insiders claim PayPal has already been in talks with possible future partners in the trading industry, though no specific companies were named. Assuming such a plan is in place, it would likely be a while before we saw Invest at PayPal launch.