PayPal launched a new feature called “Checkout with Crypto” that allows PayPal customers in the US to pay with cryptocurrency at checkout.
According to Tuesday’s announcement:
“Building on the ability to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency with PayPal, customers using Checkout with Crypto can check out safely and easily, converting cryptocurrency holdings to fiat currency at checkout, with certainty of value and no additional transaction fees. Checkout with Crypto will automatically appear in the PayPal wallet at checkout for customers with sufficient cryptocurrency balance to cover an eligible purchase.”
(PayPal noted: “Fiat Currency is government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as gold or silver, but rather by the government that issued it.”)
The feature is available at millions of global online businesses and will continue to expand over the coming months.
Here is how PayPal explains using Checkout with Crypto:
Checkout with Crypto will appear for a customer to select as a payment method if they have sufficient cryptocurrency of a single type held in their PayPal wallet to cover the purchase price. Appearing alongside other payment methods in the PayPal wallet like a bank account, balance or credit card/debit card, the Checkout with Crypto payment flow remains similar and familiar to other ways of checking out with PayPal:
- At checkout, if a customer has sufficient balance of cryptocurrency to cover an eligible purchase, crypto will automatically display as a payment method for that purchase.
- Customers will be able select their cryptocurrency of choice – Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum or Bitcoin Cash, depending on what they are holding with PayPal and the balances available in each cryptocurrency. Only one type of cryptocurrency can be used for each purchase.
- Once the customer confirms the purchase, the cryptocurrency is converted to fiat currency by PayPal on the customer’s behalf and the transaction is completed. The customer will receive a record of both the crypto sale, as well as the purchased item.
- PayPal charges no transaction fee to checkout with crypto – a cryptocurrency conversion spread will be built into the conversion from crypto to USD.
Eligible Checkout with Crypto purchases include the safety, security and other benefits of using PayPal, including 24/7 fraud protection, return shipping and purchase protection on eligible items. Checkout with Crypto starts rolling out to PayPal customers in the U.S. today.
Note: We are confirming with PayPal that merchants will be paid with dollars, not cryptocurrency, for Checkout with Crypto transactions, since it’s just another funding option for buyers.
You can the full press release on the PayPal Corporate newsroom.
