PayPal has announced a new service called Pay with Crypto, aiming to streamline international commerce by enabling merchants to accept over 100 cryptocurrencies for payment while significantly cutting transaction costs.
Businesses around the world continue to grapple with high fees and friction when making cross-border payments. According to industry estimates, billions are lost annually due to complex banking and payment processing systems. In response,
This new service from PayPal enables near-instant settlement through automatic conversion of cryptocurrencies into stablecoins or traditional fiat currencies. Merchants using the platform can tap into a growing market of more than 650 million crypto users globally. PayPal claims that the transaction fees associated with Pay with Crypto can be up to 90% lower than traditional international credit card fees, citing a flat 0.99% rate — a fraction of typical cross-border credit card processing fees.
Alex Chriss, President and CEO of PayPal, highlighted the pressures merchants face when expanding internationally, pointing to the high costs and complex integration challenges of traditional payment systems. The new offering is designed to address those issues by reducing costs and accelerating access to funds. Additionally, funds received can be held in PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD, which currently offers a reported 4% yield.
Pay with Crypto supports payment acceptance through a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, and several others. It also connects with major crypto wallets such as Coinbase, MetaMask, Binance, Kraken, and more. The product is slated to roll out in the U.S. in the coming weeks, with plans to expand globally.
This initiative is part of PayPal’s broader strategy to integrate digital currencies with existing payment infrastructure and tap into the expanding digital asset economy. Partnerships, like the recent one with Fiserv, aim to further promote stablecoin usage to enhance payment efficiency for merchants worldwide.
While the launch signals growing acceptance of crypto payment methods among mainstream payment providers, the true impact will depend on merchant adoption rates, regulatory developments, and consumer willingness to pay with digital currencies. PayPal’s move, however, reflects an ongoing trend of increasing convergence between traditional financial services and the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
