Small businesses juggle over 15 tools to manage operations, diverting time from their core passions. Michelle Gill, who leads PayPal’s Small Business and Financial Services Group, aims to reduce this complexity through integrated solutions that help merchants reclaim their time and fuel growth. As General Manager of PayPal’s Small Business and Financial Services Group, Michelle Gill is responsible for bringing together the products and services that help small business owners run and grow their business. “It’s not the adoption of the new tool in and of itself that’s the problem. It’s how it feeds back into your broader ecosystem,” says Gill. PayPal’s strategy focuses on streamlining tools through a single integration. It aims to reduce friction and give entrepreneurs more time to focus on their craft. PayPal’s approach to cash flow-based lending matches repayments with earnings. It is unlike traditional fixed-schedule lending. “Repayment is predicated on the receipt of those earnings,” says Gill. She describes the flexibility of the PayPal Working Capital product. This flexibility makes the loan more manageable for merchants with fluctuating revenue. But, until recently, merchants couldn’t access more funds until fully repaid the loan. That’s changing. “We are changing our product to allow for the ability to redraw,” she notes. She signals towards an update that will help entrepreneurs recycle capital more efficiently. Previously, PayPal could only lend based on what it processed. But open banking now enables them to assess a holistic view of merchant cash flow. “We now can have visibility into the entire merchant account, both on and off PayPal,” says Gill. This broader perspective supports more accurate underwriting. It offers larger loan sizes without expanding the credit risk. PayPal isn’t just offering loans—they’re embedding them into the workflows merchants already use. Through the PayPal dashboard, users are notified of pre-approved loan amounts as they manage daily tasks. These are like refunds and chargebacks. “We are planning to add the amount that merchants have been pre-approved for, so they know going in,” Gill shares. PayPal is also collaborating with vertical SaaS providers, as well as with marketplaces, to bring financing directly into partner platforms. The Big Ideas:
- Small Businesses Face Tool Overload. “The preponderance of them use more than 15 tools to run their business.” This overload creates inefficiencies—PayPal’s integrated platform is intended to reduce that friction.
- Cash Flow Lending Matches Business Realities. “Repayment is predicated on the receipt of those earnings.” This model reflects how small businesses operate, especially in unpredictable markets.
- Access to Capital Expands with Open Banking. “We now have visibility into the entire merchant account… not only borrow against your PayPal receivables, but also your off-US receivables.” This broader access supports more accurate and inclusive lending.
- Embedded Finance Increases Accessibility. “Merchants who use PayPal come into their dashboard generally at least once a week… We let them know they have access to capital.” In-app lending notifications simplify the financing journey.
- Loyalty Grows with Product Adoption. “If you borrow once from us, you tend to borrow five or six times.” This repeated usage signals that the lending tools are resonating with merchants.