PayPal

Cash is no longer king, and shying away from touching banknotes has benefited PayPal. The fintech giant—which does business in more than 200 countries, and deals in more than 100 currencies—had a record year as the pandemic drove shoppers from stores to buying goods on their phones and computers. In response to demand for germ-free payments, PayPal launched QR codes in 28 global markets; it also helped move digital dinero into the mainstream by adding cryptocurrency services. In total, the firm, led by CEO Dan Schulman, processed 15.4 billion payments last year, with a value of $936 billion.

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