Not the marketing leg-up, so to speak, they may think it is, especially if the world emulates Finland.*
From the Wall Street Journal, October 25:
The payments company is joining other finance firms in the vast market for customer data
If you shop using PayPal, the payments company is about to start sharing your personal data. Very personal, like your pants size.
Beginning Nov. 27, it will start compiling its trove of customer purchase data to offer to retailers so they can target their advertising. A recent privacy update reads: “Personal information we disclose includes, for example, products, preferences, sizes, and styles we think you’ll like.” (You can opt out in settings.)
Financial firms collect extensive amounts of customer data—everything from the size of your paycheck to the size of your bar tab. About 25% of large banks said they share at least some of that data with nonaffiliated third parties for marketing purposes, according to a 2020 Government Accountability Office report. Privacy disclosures show JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America do it, while American Express and Wells Fargo don’t.
The practice is more common among financial-technology firms like PayPal and “buy now, pay later” installment-loan companies like Affirm, said Daniel Garcia-Diaz, managing director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment team.
These companies tend to have in-depth data on your transactions and shopping habits. Banks typically don’t, though they can piece together your financial life across products like credit cards, checking accounts and mortgages. Federal law allows all of them to share vast amounts of customer data with outside parties for marketing, as long as they disclose the practice and give customers the ability to opt out.
Though consumers often say they’d like to opt out, it is often not as easy as clicking an app setting. Opt-out rates were generally less than 7%, according to the GAO report.
What companies sell
PayPal’s new policy disclosed more detail than what is required by law, data privacy lawyers say. The company, which had some 391 million active consumer accounts last year, says the practice is widespread across the consumer-finance industry.“We want to be the most rewarding and safest way to shop and pay,” Amy Bonitatibus, PayPal’s chief communications officer, said in a statement. “We’re committed to being transparent in how we share insights that allow PayPal and its merchant partners to personalize shopping experiences for customers.” She said customers who share data will get perks like personalized cashback offers....
....MUCH MORE
*See, for example: "Embracing päntsdrunk, the Finnish way of drinking alone in your underwear"
On a more serious note there is something very off-putting about PYPL and its corporate culture, something the stock market seems to have recognized:
—BigCharts, $81.39 at the close, October 24