Christina Smedley, Vice President, Global Brand and Communications, PayPal

There are age-old adages about time, money and technology that seem to have been accepted as universal truth: time equals money; money doesn’t grow on trees; need is the mother of invention…to name just a select few.

And at PayPal, we’re hoping to create new ones that will be part of our children’s or grandchildren’s vernacular as the innovation and product solutions we deliver around the world fundamentally change the ways people think about and experience money, which ultimately changes their day-to-day lives. We want to make them simpler, more secure, more enjoyable.

But to assume we, sitting in San Jose, know what that means everywhere in the world ignores the incredibly rich diversity across the 203 markets we serve around the globe. Even with our on the ground teams in these markets, deep customer driven insights and other ways we keep tabs on existing and future customers, we don’t know enough.

So we decided that to really empower the people in the rapidly changing, global marketplace we serve, we should go out and ask a broad sample directly about how they feel about various topics related to money, time, technology and other elements of the People Powered Economy.

The results are in, and we’re excited to share.

The main takeaway is that we seem to be on the right track: the vast majority of the world agrees that technology should make things simpler, connected and faster, delivering more choices and opportunities.

The obstacles in the way, how to spend found time, and daily grievances vary significantly among countries, but it seems the world is ready for the People Economy we’re working so hard each day to power. For cash to disappear and mobile payments to get easier. For online transactions to simply and safely open access to the rest of the world’s goods. For an easier way to experience life’s moments and to express spontaneous generosity.

Knowing that what we deliver helps improve the quality of people’s lives helps keep us true to the mission that has driven PayPal from the very beginning, as delivered by cofounder Peter Thiel: to “give citizens worldwide more direct control over their currencies than they ever had before.”

We’ve come so far already, and can’t wait to reveal what the future holds. What do you hope to see?

For more stories on how both PayPal and individuals just like yourself are powering the People Economy, visit peoplerule.com