PayPal introduces cryptocurrency for business accounts, enhancing merchant capabilities
American financial technology company PayPal has added further diversity to its service offering by making cryptocurrency available to its business customers.
The change provides its US-based merchants with the ability to hold, buy and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal business accounts.
PayPal made the decision to allow its customers to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal and Venmo accounts in 2022.
Increased functionality
PayPal’s senior vice president of blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital currencies Jose Fernandez da Ponte said this is the company’s latest step to enhance cryptocurrency’s utility by making increased functionality available to millions of merchants in the US.
“Since we launched the ability for PayPal and Venmo consumers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency in their wallets, we have learned a lot about how they want to use their cryptocurrency,” Mr da Ponte said.
“Business owners have increasingly expressed a desire for the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers.”
“We’re excited to meet that demand by delivering this new offering, empowering them to engage with digital currencies effortlessly.”
PYUSD stablecoin
PayPal launched its US dollar-denominated stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD) in 2023.
“In April 2024, we enabled PYUSD as a funding instrument for our Xoom platform, allowing users to pay no transaction fees when using PYUSD to fund eligible transfers to friends and family abroad,” Mr da Ponte said.
“Most recently, PYUSD was made available on the Solana blockchain, providing users with the choice of multiple blockchains, allowing for increased flexibility and control.”
Commercial benefits
The Solana blockchain is known for processing massive amounts of transactions at high speed with extremely low costs, providing significant benefits for commerce use cases.
“The Solana network’s speed and scalability make it the ideal blockchain for new payment solutions that are accessible, cost-effective and instantaneous,” said general manager of payments at the Solana Foundation, Sheraz Shere.
“Continued adoption from industry participants like PayPal helps realise the next generation of fintech innovation.”