PayPal expands crypto payments for US merchants to lower cross-border fees
PayPal Holdings Inc. today announced it has expanded its crypto payments capabilities for merchants and small businesses in the United States with “Pay with Crypto,” which allows them to accept more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
“Businesses of all sizes face incredible pressure when growing globally, from increased costs for accepting international payments to complex integrations,” said Alex Chriss, president and chief executive of PayPal. “Today, we’re removing these barriers and helping every business of every size achieve their goals.”
Using the new Pay with Crypto, merchants can now accept payments in the form of numerous cryptocurrency tokens, including bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Tether and Solana. The transaction fee rate will be 0.99% for the first year, increasing to 1.5% thereafter. The company said that rate is significantly lower than international credit card fees.
“Imagine a shopper in Guatemala buying a special gift from a merchant in Oklahoma City,” added Chriss. “Using PayPal’s open platform, the business can accept crypto for payments, increase their profit margins, pay lower transaction fees, and get near instant access to proceeds.”
Merchants who accept cryptocurrency tokens can instantly convert them to dollars or PYUSD, the company’s stablecoin, which is a type of cryptocurrency that maintains parity with USD so that every token is always worth $1. Funds stored as PYUSD on PayPal also earn 4% annual rewards.
The company said the new service will roll out for U.S. merchants in the coming weeks.
The news follows PayPal’s launch of PayPal World last week, which the company described as a global partnership with digital currency wallets to reimagine global money movement.
The total global market cap of the cryptocurrency market, including the most popular crypto tokens, is estimated to be about $4 trillion, according to today’s charts on Forbes. By covering more than 100 cryptocurrencies, PayPal is providing access to a significant majority of the market and especially the most popular digital currencies used for trade.
“By enabling seamless cross-border crypto payments, we’re breaking longstanding barriers in global commerce,” Chriss said.
Pay with Crypto will initially support cryptocurrency wallets from Coinbase, OKX, Binance, Kraken, Phantom, MetaMask and Exodus, with more planned.
