The Moment Is Now: What PayPal Beyond Revealed About the Future of Commerce

PayPal Beyond: Day 1 Recap - Tue, April 14 | PayPal Beyond: Day 2 Recap - Wed, April 15

At PayPal Beyond 2026, the mood was clear: move with speed and intention.

As leaders gathered in San Francisco, conversations centered on a simple but pressing reality - consumer behavior is shifting fast, powered by AI, and shaped by economic pressure and geopolitical uncertainty. For enterprises and partners gathered here in San Francisco this week, the real question isn't whether to adapt, it's how fast.

At PayPal Beyond 2026, PayPal gathered senior leaders and key enterprise customers and partners for its annual flagship enterprise customer event on the future of commerce.

PayPal Beyond: Day 1 Recap - Tuesday, April 14

Suzan Kereere, President of Global Markets, PayPal, kicked things off by naming what everyone's feeling: this is a moment of real volatility. The world is less predictable, change is accelerating, and consumers under pressure are rethinking how and where they spend. Confidence is fragile, and payment preferences are fragmenting globally. Put simply, the rules are shifting - fast.

But alongside that uncertainty comes real opportunity. This is a moment for businesses to adapt, to harness the benefits of AI, and to forge new, stronger partnerships that unlock growth in unexpected ways. Because while the landscape is changing, so too is what's possible. And that shift is redefining what it takes for enterprises to win.

_{Enrique Lores, PayPal President and CEO, in discussion with Suzan Kereere, President, Global Markets, PayPal}

In his first public address, Enrique Lores, President and CEO of PayPal, set a clear and deliberate path forward grounded in operational efficiency and execution. He reinforced PayPal's core promise to merchants: unmatched access to hundreds of millions of active consumers, paired with the scale, data, and infrastructure to convert that reach into measurable growth.

But in this moment, differentiation comes from more than capability - it comes from mindset and action. PayPal is leaning in with a focused strategy: investing in innovation, deepening partnerships, and co-building the next generation of commerce infrastructure alongside merchants. This is not about reacting to change, but operationalizing it - turning AI, shifting geopolitics, and evolving consumer behavior into tangible opportunities for growth.

"We are operating in a world that is changing with AI, geopolitical shifts, and evolving consumer behaviors. We need to embrace these changes as opportunities to grow, differentiate, and serve customers in new ways. That mindset is what will differentiate companies that succeed from those that don't." - Enrique Lores, President and CEO, PayPal

_{Diego Scotti, GM Consumer Group, PayPal, in discussion with Russell Wallach, Global President of Live Nation}

Where loyalty, rewards, and timing come together to drive action

Diego Scotti, GM of Consumer, PayPal, framed PayPal and Venmo's strategy through a dual lens: delivering value to consumers in ways that directly drive merchant growth. He highlighted how PayPal helps merchants tackle their biggest challenges - acquiring customers, improving conversion, and building loyalty - through data-driven reach, seamless checkout, and rewards that keep customers coming back. The result is a powerful flywheel: more relevant, in-the-moment value for consumers that translates into higher conversion, larger baskets, and stronger lifetime value for merchants.

The gap between discovery and purchasing is disappearing - and AI is accelerating that shift

That theme came to life across the mainstage.

Lorry Destainville, Global Head of Monetization and Product Partnerships at TikTok broke down how social and commerce are colliding - fast. The gap between discovery and purchase? It's closing faster than ever. For enterprises, that means rethinking how they show up earlier in the journey, not just at checkout, and how they create and scale content to meet that moment.

Russell Wallach, Global President of Live Nation, joined Diego on stage to discuss how the two companies are reimagining the fan journey - from presale access and flexible payments through the in-venue experience. Wallach spoke to how Pay Later is helping more fans follow through on plans they're already excited about, and what it takes to turn a payment partnership into a real growth engine.

Across both conversations, one thing was clear: the funnel is collapsing, and brands need to meet consumers in entirely new ways.

The agentic commerce moment

Michelle Gill, GM of Small Business and Financial Services, PayPal, made it clear: while agentic commerce is on top of everyone's mind, we're still in the early innings of adoption and consumers are driving intent though discovery. PayPal is the trusted agentic commerce partner to help merchants with this transition through a single integration to leading protocols and surfaces and enabling them to remain the merchant of record with their customers.

_{Michelle Gill, GM SMB & Financial Services, PayPal, in discussion with Lauren Morr, SVP Digital at Abercrombie & Fitch, Co.}

Lauren Morr, SVP Digital at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., joined her to bring the merchant perspective, sharing what it actually looks like to be one of the first adopters, along with the types of challenges they have faced in gaining buy-in and investment early.

The potential for agentic to transform commerce is real. But capturing it requires something most businesses don't yet have: infrastructure that can reach consumers across emerging AI surfaces, backed by identity, reliability and seamless transactions.

That's the future PayPal is building toward.

"The agentic commerce opportunity is massive for those that move early and thoughtfully." - Michelle Gill, GM of Small Business and Financial Services, PayPal

Beyond the stage

As Kereere reminded the audience, the real value of Beyond isn't just the speakers, it's what happens beyond the stage, the conversations, connections, shared sense of willingness to innovate and solve for problems together.

And it's just getting started.

PayPal Beyond: Day 2 Recap - Wednesday, April 15

Day 2 continues Wednesday, April 15, with convos with leaders and co-founders from Reddit, 776, ATOMS talking about disrupting traditional businesses, impact of AI, automation, and scaling what's next. Sessions will feature PayPal's Frank Keller alongside leaders from Verifone, Sephora, and NVIDIA.

Stay tuned! We'll report back from Day 2's sessions.