The news: Creators can add PayPal payment links within Canva designs, per a press release.

• The links let customers pay with PayPal, Venmo, or PayPal Pay later options.
• Powered by PayPal’s global network, merchants can accept payments over links in multiple currencies in more than 200 markets. 

This brings PayPal checkout to 265 million monthly Canva users to turn their design into payment portals that they can share on their social media pages instead of redirecting their customers to separate websites for purchase.

How we got here: PayPal has been trying to get a foothold after its “transition year” strategy for lifting branded checkout volume failed. As competitors like Apple Pay and Google Pay surge in popularity, PayPal needs new outlets for growth as its buy button loses love: Branded checkout grew just 1% in Q4 2025.

PayPal debuted payment links back in September for text threads, direct messages (DMs), or chats with a personalized message or emoji.

Why this matters: Social ecommerce’s rise gives PayPal an opening to regain ground. US retail social ecommerce sales are set to surpass $152.5 billion by 2029, per our forecast. PayPal can also lock in loyalty among Gen Z consumers, who are the generation most likely to buy things through social media, with 41.5 million social buyers in this cohort, followed by 40.6 million millennial buyers, per our forecast.

Gen Z creators and influencers will also likely be receptive to creating mini digital storefronts for their content: Half of the generation considers themselves “digital sidehustlers,” per Credit Karma. The convenience of creating a PayPal-hosted payment page in just a few clicks may convince younger digital creators to partner with the payment platform to grow their income.

Implications for payment providers: As the creator economy booms—Social media creator revenues will hit $21.1 billion this year, per our forecast—payment providers have an opportunity to facilitate fast payments for creators. 

Embedding with Canva is a valuable first step for PayPal to get a larger share of creator revenues. Expanding partnerships to other major creator platforms like Pinterest could help the payment provider widen its footprint in the social ecommerce space.