PayPay and its majority shareholder SoftBank Group are targeting up to $1.1 billion in the U.S. IPO, positioning the deal as a potential record-setting U.S. listing for a Japanese company.
The Tokyo-based fintech company and an affiliate of SoftBank Vision Fund II are jointly selling 55 million ADRs at $17 to $20 each, according to a preliminary prospectus issued on March 2, and is expected to debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker “PAYP.”
PayPay itself is selling about 31 million ADSs, and existing shareholders related to SoftBank’s Vision Fund plan to sell about 24 million shares. The company expects net income to be approximately $555 million.
Three major investors, including Qatar Holding, Visa International and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, have expressed interest in acquiring an offering of up to $220 million, but these indications are non-binding.
The company has postponed the start of formal marketing for its U.S. IPO as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have destabilized the market. The delay caused volatility across energy and bond markets in the wake of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
Founded in 2018 with support from SoftBank Group, PayPay has grown to more than 72 million users in Japan, benefiting from aggressive expansion and the country’s transition to QR-based cashless payments.
The company reported a profit of 103.3 billion yen on revenue of 278.5 billion yen for the nine months to December.
PayPay has expanded beyond QR code payments through acquisitions, acquiring control of PayPay Bank and PayPay Securities in April 2025, offering in-app banking, lending, and brokerage services.
Last October, PayPay and Binance Japan entered into a strategic capital and business alliance, with PayPay acquiring a 40% stake in the cryptocurrency exchange. The partnership will link PayPay’s user base and cashless payment network with Binance’s blockchain infrastructure, expanding access to cryptocurrencies in Japan.
