PayPal Launches Blockchain-Based Innovation Reward System for Employees

Major global online payments system PayPal has launched a blockchain-based reward system for its employees.

Financial news channel Cheddar reported on the platform launch Thursday, Dec. 6, citing PayPal's director of innovation Michael Todasco.

According to Cheddar, the program was prepared by PayPal's innovation team, which is based in San Jose, California, over a six-month period and was launched in mid-November.

Employees using the program are granted tokens for participating in innovation-related programs and contributing ideas.

These tokens are only valid within PayPal and can be traded among the participants of the program via "Public ledger."

Todasco compared the reward system to Venmo - a mobile payment service that has public and private social media-like feeds.

On the website designed for the token program, employees "Can like and comment on and see all the activity going on within PayPal related to innovation," Todasco explained.

Spanish banking giant BBVA has begun using internal tokens for an initiative in its Spanish and Argentinian branches to reward people who help train other employees or master new skills themselves.

PayPal, which has been exploring blockchain for two years already, is also interested in crypto payments.

Peter Todd, a Bitcoin developer and cryptography consultant, later stated that it appeared PayPal was trying to patent a technology that had previously been developed by Bitcoin hardware wallet Opendime.