PayPal introduces Checkout with Crypto in PayPal wallet

By Pavithra R

PayPal has announced the launch of Checkout with Crypto, a new feature that expands the utility of cryptocurrency. With the launch, PayPal customers with cryptocurrency holdings in the U.S. will now be able to choose to seamlessly check out with crypto within PayPal at checkout.

Built on the ability to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency with PayPal, customers using Checkout with Crypto can check out safely, converting cryptocurrency holdings to fiat currency at checkout, with a certainty of value and no additional transaction fees. The new feature will automatically appear in the PayPal wallet at checkout for customers with sufficient cryptocurrency balance to cover an eligible purchase. All transactions are settled in USD and converted to the applicable currency for the business at the standard PayPal conversion rates. 

The feature appears alongside other payment methods like a bank account, balance or credit card/debit card and the Checkout with Crypto payment flow remains similar and familiar to other ways of checking out with PayPal:

• At checkout, if the customer has an adequate balance of cryptocurrency to cover an eligible purchase, crypto will automatically display as a payment method for that purchase.
• Customers will be able to 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.
• A cryptocurrency conversion spread will be built into the conversion from crypto to USD. Purchases include the safety, security and other benefits of using PayPal, including 24/7 fraud protection, return shipping and purchase protection on eligible items. 
• 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.

“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,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO, PayPal.

Checkout with Crypto offers customers the capability to sell cryptocurrency through PayPal to then pay a business for select online purchases in one seamless checkout flow. The launch reinforces PayPal‘s commitment to enabling choice in the way customers pay, and how businesses get paid and is a natural extension of the broad portfolio of services offered to merchants to drive engagement with their customers.