- The “Pay with Crypto” is being launched as an open platform
- PayPal said its new service should be available across the U.S. in the coming weeks\
- “Pay with Crypto” will be compatible with multiple wallet networks like Coinbase, Metamask, OKX, Binance, Kraken
PayPal has launched a crypto payment feature to make cross-border settlements more cost-efficient for U.S.-based merchants. On Monday, July 28 the online payments giant launched “Pay with Crypto” that will let American business owners process fiat to crypto conversions in real time and process quick payments. PayPal claims that with a transaction rate of 0.99 percent, this service will slash the transaction costs by 90 percent compared to international credit card processing.
The fintech firm, headquartered in San Jose, California, said it is on a mission to integrate crypto with traditional finance to “transform” commerce. In its official announcement, PayPal noted that through this service it expects to help American businesses to connect to the app’s global crypto userbase of over 650 million.
PayPal president and CEO Alex Chriss said businesses now have a direct option to accept crypto payments and increase their profit margins, explaining the profitability this service brings to the table. He added that paying lower transaction fees automatically saves more for merchants.
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“Businesses of all sizes face incredible pressure when growing globally, from increased costs for accepting international payments to complex integrations. Today, we’re removing these barriers,” Chriss noted, adding that businesses can also grow their idle funds by four percent by holding them as the PYUSD stablecoin within the platform.
‘Pay with Crypto’: As decoded by PayPal
PayPal’s “Pay with Crypto” service is in its early stage of roll out for now. While the company said its new service should be available across the U.S. in the coming weeks, it did not clarify the timeline of launching it to the other markets where PayPal is operational in.
The feature will let merchants work with over a hundred crypto assets including BTC, ETH, USDT, XRP, BNB, Solana, and USDC.
Additionally, “Pay with Crypto” will be compatible with widely used wallet networks like Coinbase, Metamask, OKX, Binance, Kraken, Phantom, and Exodus. PayPal plans to integrate the service with more wallet networks in the later stages of this service’s roll out.
Despite these benefits, PayPal did alert its community about the risks that are involved with crypto transactions. These include network and custody risks alongside regulatory uncertainty among others.
PayPal’s tango with crypto
PayPal was founded as “Confinity” back in 1998. With around two decades of experience in the fintech sector, the platform enabled crypto purchasing, holding, and selling services in 2020.
In the last five years, the platform has experimented with different kinds of crypto-related services. In 2022, for instance, it started offering crypt services in the EU region. The same year, PayPal started letting users transfer BTC and other digital assets into external wallets.
In May 2023, the platform had disclosed nearly $1 billion in crypto holdings, most of which consisted of BTC and ETH tokens. In August 2023, the platform launched its PYUSD stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar.
