PayPal is making a push into Japan, where it has been available to Japanese users since 2008 (it has over 400,000 active accounts in Japan), and recently opened an office in Omote-sando. Anuj Nayar, Director of Global Communications at PayPal, said PayPal is now reaching out to Japanese sellers, buyers and developers in an effort to boost PayPal's presence in the market. PayPal's Total Payment Volume (TPV) in Japan grew by 45% in the first half of 2010, of which cross-border trade accounted for 70%.

Nayar said PayPal sees huge potential for growth in the Japanese domestic ecommerce market. "The Japanese market is expected to grow at 13% annually from 2009 to 2014. We're growing three times as fast as that, making now a great time to bolster the business in Japan even more. Plus, our cross-border sales are increasing and PayPal fits perfectly in that picture as well."

Nayar could not disclose any partnerships with banks or financial institutions just yet, but said PayPal is currently available with dozens of merchants based in the both Japan and abroad that sell to Japanese customers.

PayPal's buyer research shows privacy and security are high priorities for online consumers in Japan - where mobile commerce accounts for 25% of all ecommerce transactions.

Japan is only one of several countries in Asia Pacific PayPal has been cultivating. PayPal entered into an agreement with China UnionPay in March to allow Chinese consumers to use PayPal to shop online. And it has entered into mobile commerce partnerships in Singapore and Malaysia this summer.

Nayar said PayPal has nearly 5 million active accounts in Asia Pacific (more than 16 million total accounts), and processed more than $6 billion of total payment volume in Asia Pacific in 2009, an increase of 38 percent from 2008.