PayPal Waives Processing Fees for Startups

In a new program that PayPal calls the Startup Blueprint, the processing giant will waive the first $50,000 in payment processing fees for the first 18 months.

The catch? The business must be deemed an eligible startup company. Eligibility guidelines include having a company that is less than five years old, make less than $3 million annually, and must be creators of mobile or web products, services, or hardware.

PayPal will prospect for eligible startups along with Startup Blueprint enrolled incubators, accelerators, or VCs such as 500 Startups, Seedcamp, and Elevator. These nominated companies can then apply to enter the program. Only these EMEA and North American startup backers are nominating now, though PayPal hopes to expand to other regions soon.

The fortunate startups will also receive support from PayPal in the form of active monitoring of suspicious transactions, and the resolving of transaction issues.

PayPal likens this focus on customer service and leniency on processing fees as a sort of sympathetic move on their part. They’re trying to “return to their startup roots,” as a means to fuel innovation, rather than stifle it.

Though the program is only available to web and mobile startups, it could be the first step in PayPal shifting their focus towards being more startup friendly in general, and in improving their reputation in the SMB scene.