Paypal's founder is irrelevant. (And really, paypal has about 5 founders, and a VenCap firm that founded them.) They are now owned by Ebay.
And the fact is, they are NOT a financial institution per US banking rules, they are an "e-commerce solution licensed as a money transmitter in many US states that require licensing." The money from paypal users is kept in commercial interest bearing checking accounts at major banks.
That's an important distinction, because as a not-bank, they are subject to certain rules themselves from the banks the money is in, the state laws at places where the money is stored, and the agreement terms they make with banks/real financial institutions they deal with.
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