PayPal is splitting away from eBay as its own company

eBay has just announced that as of next year PayPal will be its own separate, publicly traded company.

The split is reported to be happening in the latter half of 2015 and will see eBay’s e-commerce unit and PayPal’s payment system become their own separate entities. Devin Wenig, president of eBay Marketplaces, will become CEO of eBay, while American Express executive Dan Schulman has joined PayPal as President and CEO

Presumably the two will still have a strong partnership, and anyone with shares in eBay will receive one share in both companies for every share they currently hold.

It’s unclear how this will affect the consumers, but considering both companies have been separately run for many years it’s likely that most people won’t even notice the change. One would hope that this won’t lead to a hike in user fees.

Want to read more? If you’re looking to buy a wearable or activity tracker, we’ve found the best wearables to keep you safe, but, if they’re too expensive, here are the best budget wearables and activity trackers for under £70.

If you’re not bothered by wearables at all, but still want help with keeping fit, check out our feature on 10 kitchen gadgets, tools and utensils for healthy living.

Tom Pritchard