PayPal Will Let Cross-Border Merchants Pay With Crypto

PayPal has introduced a cryptocurrency payments feature it says is aimed at easing cross-border commerce.

Pay with Crypto, announced Monday (July 28), is designed to connect merchants to what the company describes as a more than $3 trillion market by allowing for instant crypto to stablecoin or fiat conversion.

“Businesses of all sizes face incredible pressure when growing globally, from increased costs for accepting international payments to complex integrations. Today, we’re removing these barriers and helping every business of every size achieve their goals,” Alex Chriss, president and CEO of PayPal, said in a news release.

The release added that the new feature, set to become available to U.S. merchants in the coming weeks, supports transactions across more than 100 cryptocurrencies and wallets such as Coinbase and MetaMask, giving merchants access to more than 650 million crypto users worldwide while cutting transaction costs.

The news follows last week’s debut of PayPal World, a platform connecting PayPal with five of the world’s biggest digital wallets.

Writing about the challenges of making cross-border payments earlier this month, PYMNTS noted that the headaches are especially acute for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), independent contractors and emerging market companies.

These businesses often face prohibitive fixed costs, wider foreign exchange spreads, and steeper transaction fees. Settlement times can take up to a week, in many cases leading to working capital pressures and supply chain disruptions.

“At the same time, the process lacks transparency,” the report added. “A payment sent from one country can vanish into a black box of intermediaries, with limited tracking capability and little recourse in the event of a dispute.”

Writing about the potential of digital assets in improving cross-border payments earlier this month, PYMNTS argued that stablecoin B2B payments are thriving “where banking can often fail,” with Latin America and Africa serving as hubs of real-world adoption.

In Brazil and Colombia, platforms such as Bitso and Conduit have allowed faster euro and U.S. dollar settlement. In Kenya and Ghana, businesses turn to stablecoins to avoid currency devaluation and cross-border delays.

“Stablecoins are a great way to transfer value,” Conduit CEO Kirill Gertman told PYMNTS in a recent interview.

“There are advantages in instant settlement,” he added. “You don’t need as much working capital. You’re not exposed to FX gain/loss.”

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