PayPal shares to start trading on July 20 under 'PYPL' ticker after planned split from eBay

PayPal will start trading on the Nasdaq on July 20 under the "PYPL" ticker after its split from parent company eBay.

E-commerce company eBay Inc.said Friday that its board of directors officially approved the completion of the separation. The split was first announced in September 2014.

Investors had pressured the company to split because they said separate units could be more focused on growth. PayPal has long been eBay's fastest growing segment.

EBay has said it plans to focus on growing its 25 million sellers and 157 million active buyers, particularly small- and medium-size merchants that make of 70 percent of the global retail market. PayPal will position itself as a "full-service" payments partner for consumers and merchants, handling mobile transactions, credit purchases and customer loyalty rewards programs.

EBay and PayPal will still work together. The companies have said PayPal will process at least 80 percent of transactions on eBay after the split, even though both can work with new partners.

San Jose, California-based eBay will keep trading under the "EBAY" symbol. Each eBay shareholder will receive one share of PayPal stock for each share of eBay held on July 8. PayPal stock will be distributed July 17.