PayPal Holdings Inc. develops technological systems for digital payments. This American global financial technology firm’s main operating brands include PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom and Paydiant. The company is at the vanguard of the development of online payment systems that serve as an electronic alternative to paper methods, such as checks and money orders. The company was originally established in 1998 as Confinity, before going public via an IPO four years later. It then became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay, before a shareholder takeover in 2015 saw PayPal return to being an independent company again. PayPal Holdings Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.