Erm, no.Novalis wrote:Of course it is a bank.PayPal isn't a bank.
It needs and has a bank license in every country it operates.
Not in the US. Not anywhere in the EU except Luxembourg, where it has a banking license, not a 'bank license'. Building societies have banking licenses, too, but they're still not banks.
In fact there isn't any such thing as a bank license, but having a banking license doesn't make something a bank any more than having a fishing license makes you a fish.
In the United States, PayPal is licensed as a money transmitter on a state-by-state basis.[56] PayPal is not classified as a bank in the United States, though the company is subject to some of the rules and regulations governing the financial industry including Regulation E consumer protections and the USA PATRIOT Act.[57]
In 2007, PayPal Europe was granted a Luxembourg banking license, which, under European Union law, allows it to conduct banking business throughout the EU.[58] It is therefore regulated as a bank by Luxembourg's banking supervisory authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).[59][60][61]
In Australia, PayPal is licensed as an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) and is thus subject to Australian banking laws and regulations.[62]