Dive Brief:
- PayPal’s venture arm has appointed Ian Cox Moya, 42, as managing partner, the fintech giant said in an emailed statement Wednesday to Payments Dive.
- Moya’s predecessor, James Loftus, exited PayPal to “pursue another opportunity,” a PayPal spokesperson said in the statement. According to Loftus' LinkedIn page, he joined talent management tech company Velocity Global as chief financial officer this month, after being managing partner of PayPal’s venture capital unit from 2022 until 2025.
- “Ian has been an integral part of our team since he rejoined PayPal three years ago,” the spokesperson said. “His deep fintech expertise in the U.S. and Latin America has been pivotal in shaping our global investment strategy, and he has supported many visionary founders across the fintech and e-commerce ecosystems.”
Dive Insight:
Moya was part of PayPal’s strategy development in Latin America from 2012 to 2015, and he rejoined the company in 2022 as a partner for the San Jose, California-based company’s venture capital arm, according to his LinkedIn account. He formerly led card company Synchrony’s venture arm from 2018 to 2021.
To date, PayPal’s venture arm has poured about $850 million into dozens of companies spanning the fintech, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries, according to the company’s website. Among those that have received venture capital are Acorns, FreshBooks, Ellevest, Plaid and Raise, per the company’s website.
Following Ian’s return in 2022, PayPal’s venture arm made considerable investments in Latin American fintech startups. In 2023, the company was one of multiple firms that invested $14 million into nocnoc, an e-commerce platform that connects global merchants with Latin America. The following year, PayPal’s venture unit and other investors invested $15 million into Ume, a Brazilian payments company that serves small and mid-sized businesses.
PayPal has extended its investment dollars beyond its payments purview in recent years. In 2023, the company was one of several investors that placed $30 million in Israeli data privacy management startup Mine. Last year, the venture arm and other investors invested $30 million in Rasa, a generative AI company.
