We already knew PayPal planned to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method. And now, with the launch of its “Checkout with Crypto” feature today, consumers in the United States can do just that.
PayPal’s latest “Checkout with Crypto” enables customers to immediately convert their Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash to US dollars (with no extra transaction fees) that PayPal then uses to complete the transaction, following the launch of the ability for US users to buy and sell cryptocurrency directly from their accounts last November. PayPal converts US dollars into local currency at regular exchange rates set by Paypal if a merchant does not accept US dollars.
If a user has an “appropriate cryptocurrency balance to support a qualified transaction,” the feature will appear in the PayPal wallet, and you’ll be able to see your crypto balances for each form of a coin in the app. However, each purchase can only be made with one form of cryptocurrency.
PAYPAL IS NOT THE FIRST PAYMENT APP TO OFFER SUPPORT FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY
PayPal isn’t the first payment service to accept cryptocurrency. Square, a rival, added Bitcoin support to its Cash App in 2018. However, with the addition of cryptocurrency as a payment method, PayPal has become both a big digital wallet and a cryptocurrency exchange, possibly promoting the acceptance of cryptocurrency as a more popular payment method. Last week, the company announced that it had 377 million active accounts at its Investor Day.
