On 4 November 2024, PayPal’s first-ever Tech Talk in Singapore gathered a diverse community of developers and technologists at our International Headquarters to code, create and connect; and be inspired by our mission to revolutionize commerce globally. The afternoon of programming saw developers, system integrators, channel partners and other technology professionals learning about PayPal’s newest products, participating in interactive coding workshops, and building connections with their peers and the PayPal team.
Opening the event, Shaun Khalfan, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, noted that Singapore is among the first places in the world PayPal was organizing an event of this scale – a nod to the critical role Singapore’s developer community plays in operationalizing PayPal’s technology, to drive change at scale with customers around the world. He also emphasized how driving a culture of secure coding and product development is essential to creating an ecosystem that is underpinned by trust.
“Quality code means secure code – and that’s what ultimately builds customer trust.”
– Shaun Khalfan, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, PayPal
Ritesh Arora, Senior Director of Small and Medium Business, Asia Pacific set the commercial context for the day’s program, laying out the needs and challenges SMBs face, and what they’re looking for in a payments partner. He noted that developers are instrumental in helping SMBs scale, by streamlining complex payment processes and enhancing their end-user experience. Cafrey Ma, Product Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific, then talked through PayPal’s newest offerings designed to simplify cross-border transactions for SMBs.
“My key takeaway was that it is really easy for developers to integrate with PayPal…and I look forward to recommending more merchants to get on board PayPal.”
– Bryan Ho, Director, SMMILE Digital (digital marketing agency)
Hands-on engagement with the tools shaping the future of cross-border payments was the order of the rest of the day, with technical experts leading interactive workshops, guided integration walkthroughs, and sharing practical implementation strategies.
"Hearing from the people who built the products themselves…is very helpful for us as developers."
– Haikal Yusuf, Software engineer, Visa
Greg Gorman, Director, Developer Relations, also shared how PayPal is “helping developers integrate with PayPal through various programs, including more face-to-face engagements like Tech Talk… showing them the resources available and putting a face to the brand,” to create a win-win model for both developers and merchants. Rounding out our commitment to enable both developers and the ecosystem around them, Eugene Ng, Partner Manager, Southeast Asia, introduced our upcoming PayPal Partner Program, which will enable and reward channel partners for the important role they play in connecting merchants.
Events like Tech Talk celebrate the powerful role developers play in shaping the future of secure, accessible, and seamless cross-border payments. PayPal invites developers everywhere to help reimagine commerce on a global scale with us.
Watch the highlights here.