PayPal, raiSE Team To Help SMBs With Digital Transformation

PayPal is partnering with the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprises (raiSE) to help small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and social organizations transition to digital operations, The Business Times reported.

According to report, PayPal has committed to initiatives including waiving processing fees for participating social entrepreneurs for a certain period; featuring SMBs and social entrepreneurs on PayPal’s website; and holding online workshops to give SMBs and social enterprises tools for establishing strong digital presences.

The report added: “PayPal will also encourage their global employees to shop from small merchants, including participating social entrepreneurs based in Singapore that sell internationally.”

On its Singapore website, PayPal recommends businesses can harness digital tools to “mitigate the risk of external shocks to your brick-and-mortar sales,” “make it easy for people to shop, with preferred payment methods and seamless checkout,” “avoid online fraud with a payments processor that helps protects buyers and sellers,” “get up and running online fast with a trusted, all-in-one shopping cart” and “grow business beyond your borders.”

PayPal’s Singapore website encourages shopping at SMBs through program called “support local.”

“Small businesses are now facing new challenges,” the local-shopping site’s main page states. “Adjusting to this new reality, business owners are fighting back with ingenious pivots, perseverance and resilience. While we share their inspiring stories, we count on you to support their businesses.”

Websites currently featured include a book designer, a florist, an eatery and more.

PayPal’s new program in Singapore follows the company’s SME Business Challenge in 2020.

The 2020 program featured a series of workshops dealing with the challenge of converting an SMB to digital. Topics ranged from the basics of eCommerce to handling electronic financial transactions to marketing through social media.