PayPal has launched Checkout with Crypto, a new feature that allows customers with cryptocurrency to check out using this option on the company’s platform.
The cryptocurrencies supported by PayPal are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash, and only one of these can be used for each purchase.
This feature will now automatically appear in the PayPal wallet at checkout for US customers with a sufficient cryptocurrency balance to cover an eligible purchase, and there will be no transaction fees.
Once the purchase is confirmed, the cryptocurrency is converted to fiat money, a government-issued currency that is not backed by a commodity but by the government that issued it, and then the transaction is completed.
"As the use of digital payments and digital currencies accelerates, the introduction of Checkout with Crypto continues our focus on driving mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, while continuing to offer PayPal customers choice and flexibility in the ways they can pay using the PayPal wallet," said Dan Schulman, president and CEO at PayPal.
"Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies."
Furthermore, this feature allows customers to checkout with cryptocurrency without any additional integrations or fees required by the business. Customers can sell cryptocurrency through PayPal to then pay a business for select online purchases. The transactions are settled in USD and converted to the applicable currency at PayPal conversion rates.
When asked when this feature would be rolled out to the UK, a spokesperson for PayPal said: “Currently this feature is only available to PayPal customers in the US We have nothing further to share regarding market expansion at this time.”
In October, PayPal launched a service that allowed customers to trade and exchange cryptocurrencies on their platform. The service is in partnership with the Paxos Trust Company, a regulated provider of cryptocurrency services. Furthermore, PayPal has been awarded a conditional “Bitlicense” by the New York State Department of Financial Services, which is needed for businesses looking to trade in Bitcoin.
