Too many First Data Managers brought in - Large Merchant Management PayPal Employee Review

3.0
19 Jul 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lots of great opportunity to develop relations with Large Internet Retailer accts which is very valuable in terms of resume building. Also, good information sharing, somewhat open to ideas and allowing employees to work on those etc. PayPal also looks good on a resume, so it does open doors once you leave. Very large presence in Omaha, about 3,000 employees, decent facilities. People are nice

Cons

Many (not all) in UPPER managment are SO political and unqualified it is impossible to get anything substantial done unless you spend all day ego stroking and handing over credit for every thing you do to your boss. Those that do that, are the ones that stay in the same role for 10+years and are total company loyalists but are making a fraction of $ that others in their field are earning. Zero sensitivity to employees that are trying to advance, move into different depts. The tend to hold people back as much as possible, especially if you are making them (upper mngmnt) look good-they do not want to lose the valuable people. They hired so many upper mngmnt that were laid off First Data people and they added so many ridiculous processes on top of processes and then they hired all their own mngrs and got together like a new firewall so that no one that was NON FIRST DATA had any chance of moving up. Really sad because prior to all the changes it was a great, productive, career nurturing place to work. Also the pay in OMAHA office is horrible for Mngmnt level. WAY below industry standards-and WAY less than San Jose people doing the same or similar roles. I made 85k more income the FIRST year after I left PayPal! They need to tap into the existing talent pool that they have instead of letting valuable people go, and keeping the people that have been there 10 years and have no other career experience to bring to the role.

Explore other reviews about PayPal

5.0
7 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work life balance. Lot of opportunities to learn

Cons

Company is in transition mode

2.0
13 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

PayPal has a lot of potential. It has two very strong brands in PayPal and Venmo with significant awareness and user bases that other companies envy. There are pockets of teams that are really pushing the envelop to reimagine what PayPal and Venmo could be—especially the Venmo team—and to move with speed given the company must stay focused and not waste time with Apple Pay, Shop Pay, and so many other competitors nipping at PayPal's heels and aggressively taking market share.

Cons

While some teams are pushing to self-disrupt and are moving fast, too many teams—and I'd argue the majority of the company–are living off of PayPal's laurels from the late 2010s through the pandemic. The culture and mindset have to change for the company to remain competitive. Otherwise, they are the Titanic and they're sinking slowly. The former CEO who only last 2 years tried diversifying the company's revenue, planning for the future. But the board and its former chairman (now new CEO) felt he wasn't moving fast enough to stabilize and marketshare. Instead, the board hired the former chairman who made computers and printers at HP—another sinking ship—to lead the oldest fintech company. The loss of confidence in the leadership team and the strategy are only accelerating.

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