This year, we are celebrating our 5th birthday. We’ve come a long way since 2015, and achieved much – and we intend to go a lot further. But for now, here are five facts about PingPong that you may not know about us.
Fact One: The Genesis
In March 2015, we were registered in New York City – three months later we set up a local Chinese HQ in Hangzhou. We wanted to get the ball rolling with our localized service, blazing a trail for a better, and more customer centric, payment provider.
But it was June 18th, 2015, that saw us start to redefine cross-border payment and commerce. We uploaded the first line of data onto our server, and the journey began.
Fact Two: The first customer
On December 24th, 2015 – Christmas Eve no less – we had an onsite visitor. An Amazon seller, based in Hangzhou. He was trying to find out more information about our then slogan: “Amazing 1%”. It was advertising our transparent pricing, and after looking at our services he was impressed by what he saw – and signed up for our services on the spot.
Within six months, industry incumbents followed our example of setting up local customer service, and local sales teams. But we have still remained the product and service leader in China.
…and that first customer? He’s still with us, today.
Fact Three: A new era with “Amazing 1%”
Before we came on the scene, the payments industry was suffering from the duopoly of two incumbent providers. Neither of them were prioritizing speed of payment, and often customers had to face high, and often hidden, fees. We wanted to do things differently. With our transparent fees and high local service standards, we became a real alternative to what was currently available, and made same day delivery the new industry normal.
Since our creation, we have saved 70% of the cost in terms of fees for Amazon, and other platform, sellers – which translates in a $2 billion saving, from 2016 to 2019.
Fact Four: Around the world with Amazon
You’ve heard of ‘around the world in eighty days’? Well, since our launch date we have constantly grown our coverage of Amazon sites. The latest addition to our growing number, is Amazon Netherlands, with the total sites supported now at 14.
And finally…
Fact Five: Becoming a Unicorn
All of our hard work and prioritizing innovation, meant that in March of last year we officially became a “Unicorn." The closing of our Series C funding round saw Fidelity remain our lead investor – they’ve been with us since our Series A raise. We not only work with the likes of Fidelity, but also with global partners such as Citibank and J.P. Morgan.
In our five year history, we have processed more than $10 billion in cross-border payments for eCommerce merchants, and transferred more than $100 million per day for international eCommerce sellers. We are now one of the largest providers on the Amazon marketplace, and are excited to get started on the next five years. Knowing these five facts about PingPong, you know to watch this space!
