It looks like eBay is going to part ways with PayPal; the company will spin-off PayPal as its own separate business in the second half of 2015.

eBay purchased PayPal back in 2002 and since then, both companies have been growing exponentially. However, PayPal is one of the fastest growing technology companies in the world, and touted an impressive 143 million active users – at the end of 2013.

So, in the interest of letting PayPal develop further and not be weighed down by Ebay’s different financial strategy, the one company will split in two next year. eBay’s current CEO, John Donahoe explained it like this:

The industry landscape is changing, and each business faces different competitive opportunities and challenges. A thorough strategic review... shows that keeping eBay and PayPal together beyond 2015 clearly becomes less advantageous to each business strategically and competitively."

PayPal is currently processing payments in 203 markets around the world and has a revenue of $7.2bn with an annual growth rate of 19%. The company is expected to process over a billion mobile payments this year alone.

Source: eBay via: BBC | Image Credit: Shutter Stock - PayPal payment system logo