PayPal Holdings NASDAQ PYPL first-quarter earnings report released on April 25 provided ample evidence of the sustainability of its recent revenue and earnings trends Lets look at the raw numbers and pertinent details from the filing and examine how the past quarter highlights PayPals unique strengths PayPal The raw numbers Data source PayPal Holdings Inc What happened this quarter Total payments volume TPV which measures all transactions processed over PayPals platform rose 32 over the prior year comparable quarter to 132 billion The company added 81 million new accounts with net new active accounts increasing 35 year over year Person to Person P2P payments continued to account for a growing share of overall TPV Total P2P volume expanded by 50 to approximately 30 billion during the quarter TPV for the popular social payments app Venmo increased 80 to 12 billion The effort to monetize Venmo continues Over 2 million US merchants now accept it as a payment option A new feature which enables instant settlement of money transfers between friends for a 025 fee saw rapid growth during the quarter Volume transacted over mobile devices surged 52 in the last three months Mobile TPV of 49 billion accounted for 37 of PayPals overall TPV PayPals transaction margin its margin on transactions after considering transaction expenses and losses on transactions and loans after rising to 65 in the fourth quarter of 2017 fell to 57 in the first quarter a percentage thats more in line with its trend for the last several quarters Management noted that on a currency-neutral basis merchant TPV grew at a rate of five times the rate of merchant volume growth on eBays Marketplace platform This statistic should allay some of investors fears over the eventual end of its relationship as merchant of record for eBay The 68 billion sale of PayPals credit receivables portfolio to credit partner Synchrony Financial NYSE SYF is expected to conclude early in the third quarter Network Expansion Its been widely noted that PayPal has thrived over the last two years by forming partnerships with potential competitors from tech giants to bank card issuers That deal making continued during the last quarter as the organization inked agreements with two of Spains leading banks CaixaBank and Bankia Caixa Banks business customers can now offer PayPal as a payment option on their websites And Bankias retail customers can link Bankia cards to a PayPal wallet thus funding online purchases on PayPal merchant websites Also during the quarter JP Morgan Chase made purchases via PayPal merchant sites one of the few ways Chase Freedom credit card cardholders can receive 5 cash back on purchases Similarly attractive perks are in the offing for customers of British bank Barclays following yet another deal PayPal concluded last quarter For example Barclays US cardholders will soon be able to redeem credit card rewards points for purchases at PayPal merchants I cite the examples above not simply to provide an update on new agreements the transactions giant has sealed since the last reporting period but to illustrate how these financial institutions are increasingly realize that PayPal has high utility for their customers and enhances their own offerings This perception of added value is also helping PayPal expand its merchant base During the Q1 earnings conference call CEO Dan Schulman noted that sale conversions on mobile devices are typically low which is an issue for merchants as customers increasingly shop online Schulman relayed that PayPals instant payment One Touch feature has lifted its mobile conversion rate to nearly 90 -- more than twice the industry average Of course to maximize the yield on its growing network of card issuers and merchants PayPal must also reel in new users and widen the universe of potential customers One of the ways the company is expanding its total addressable market is through the pursuit of a customer population largely ignored by banks and credit card companies the underbanked These consumers lack access to traditional banking services and revolving credit products In April PayPal announced a partnership with M-Pesa a Kenyan payment service that enables the underbanked to make payments and transfer funds via their mobile phones The tie-up allows M-Pesa account holders to purchase goods globally online from PayPal merchants It also helps Kenyan businesses tap into the international market for goods and services as micro-businesses and freelancers with M-Pesa accounts will now be able to sell to foreign purchasers Recently PayPal also issued its PayPal Cash Mastercard designed for US consumers outside the traditional banking system The prepaid card can be loaded at over 20 000 retail locations in the US and its distinctive for its lack of monthly fees and minimum balance requirements Users can receive funds via direct deposit into their PayPal Cash account and even deposit checks using image capture a feature typically available only to traditional bank account holders