Payments move into media

PayPal is moving deeper into television ads, using its payment data to tell brands whether a streaming ad led to an actual purchase. (paypal.com) On April 22, PayPal launched a product called Curated Ads for connected TV and the open web. The company said the inventory comes directly from Spectrum Reach, Tubi and Warner Bros. Discovery. (paypal.com) PayPal said the pitch is “closed-loop attribution,” ad-industry shorthand for matching ad exposure to a later sale. It said the system is powered by 25 billion verified transactions a year across merchants and spending categories. (paypal.com) That pushes a payments company into a job long dominated by media sellers, retail media networks and measurement firms: proving which ads worked. AdExchanger said buyers can use PayPal transaction data to build audiences across Warner Bros. Discovery, Tubi and Spectrum Reach, then connect those ad exposures to sales. (adexchanger.com) PayPal has been building toward this for more than a year. It formally launched PayPal Ads in October 2024, then added Offsite Ads in June 2025 and Ads Manager in October 2025 before extending the model into streaming TV this week. (emarketer.com, paypal.com, paypal.com) The basic bet is that payments data is more valuable if it does more than move money. PayPal’s advertiser materials say brands can use its transaction graph across PayPal and Venmo for onsite ads, offsite placements and offers aimed at high-intent shoppers. (paypal.com, paypal.com) Other payment and commerce platforms are chasing the same control over settlement, targeting and measurement. Reports this week said DoorDash is planning stablecoin payouts for Dashers through Tempo, with the pitch centered on faster settlement and lower cross-border costs. (cointelegraph.com, 99bitcoins.com) Restaurants are feeling the pressure from the other side of that system. The Dallas Observer reported Wednesday that third-party delivery can strip away already-thin margins, while Wharton summarized research showing platform fees typically run 15% to 30% per order before other delivery and processing costs. (dallasobserver.com, knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu) The National Restaurant Association said in its February 11, 2026 industry outlook that operators still face rising costs and uneven traffic even as sales are projected to reach $1.55 trillion this year. That leaves more businesses looking for technology that can either cut transaction costs or prove marketing spend with less guesswork. (restaurant.org) PayPal’s new TV push lands in that exact gap: brands want proof, platforms want a bigger share of commerce, and payment networks want to own more of the path from impression to checkout. (paypal.com, adexchanger.com)