PayPal’s new Checkout with Crypto offering will enable its US customers to checkout with cryptocurrency, alongside other payment methods
PayPal customers in the US can choose to pay using Checkout with Crypto. (Credit: PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
Online payments firm PayPal rolled out a new feature, dubbed Checkout with Crypto, to expand the utility of cryptocurrency.
The company’s new Checkout with Crypto service allows its US customers to use their cryptocurrency holdings to pay at millions of its global online businesses.
Building on the capability of PayPal users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency, the new offering allows them to safely and easily convert cryptocurrency to fiat currency at checkout, without any additional fees.
PayPal said that its Checkout with Crypto makes cryptocurrency an alternate option for customers to make payments and businesses to get paid.
PayPal president and CEO Dan Schulman said: “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.
“Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies.”
Customers with sufficient cryptocurrency balance in their PayPal wallet can select Checkout with Crypto, along with other payment options, to pay for the eligible purchases.
They can choose their cryptocurrency from Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum or Bitcoin Cash, based on the balances they hold in each cryptocurrency, as only one type of cryptocurrency is allowed for use in each purchase.
When the customer confirms the purchase, the cryptocurrency is converted to fiat currency by PayPal, on behalf of the customer.
The transaction completes with the user receiving a record of the crypto sale, along with the purchased item.
PayPal said that it is not charging any transaction fee in relation to the new checkout with crypto and ensures that all transactions are settled in USD.
Last month, PayPal unveiled plans to shut down its domestic payments business operations in India from April 2021.