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PayPal users can now send or receive money using one-time shareable links that work across various messaging apps and expire after 10 days of inactivity.
“PayPal links” begin rolling out in the US today and will be available in the UK, Italy, and other markets later this month. The company hopes this feature drives “new customer acquisition and brings more users into the PayPal ecosystem.”
To start using the feature, head to the PayPal app’s Send/Request tab. You’ll see the suggestion to “send and request money with a link” at the top. Select it, enter your amount, and tap Send or Request. A link will be generated, which can be shared with a friend or family member via text, DM, email, or chat. You can also add additional notes, such as why the payment is being made or requested.
Once the other person receives your PayPal link, they can tap it and complete the payment from within the PayPal app or website. If the link is untapped for 10 days, it becomes invalid.
“As always, friends-and-family transfers through Venmo and PayPal are exempt from 1099-K reporting,” PayPal says.
Crypto payments are also coming to PayPal. Users in the US will soon be able “to send Bitcoin, Ethereum, PYUSD, and more, to PayPal, Venmo, as well as a rapidly growing number of digital wallets across the world that support crypto and stablecoins,” it says.
These announcements come just over a month after PayPal introduced PayPal World, a mechanism that facilitates the interoperability of some of the largest payment systems and wallets worldwide. When it launches later this year, PayPal World will enable cross-platform payments across Latin America’s Mercado Pago, India’s NPCI International Payments Limited (UPI), China’s Weixin Pay, PayPal, and Venmo.
