PayPal, a leading digital payments company and one of the most widely recognized global brands today announced its plans to extend their services. Previously known as an online payment network that enabled people to transfer money electronically via email or mobile devices for free, it now also supports cryptocurrency purchases through PayPal accounts which is likely going to increase popularity among merchants worldwide due to relatively low fees compared with other types of transactions such as credit cards.
PayPal president and CEO, Dan Schulman said the shift to digital currencies is inevitable. “The advantages of this are clear,” he explained. Digital forms provide easier access for people with financial constraints as well as a more efficient payment system that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. He also mentioned it’s quicker than traditional currency and doesn’t require costly infrastructure investments like ATMs or bank branches because you don’t need cash at all.
“We believe PayPal has an opportunity – but most importantly, a responsibility – to help facilitate understanding by redeeming these new instruments of exchange.”
Building Understanding and Adoption of Cryptocurrency
With the recent explosion of cryptocurrencies, PayPal is stepping up to provide consumers with a new way to purchase and make transactions. The company will be introducing their own cryptocurrency services, starting in select U.S markets on December 17th. Users can buy four different types: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) Litecoin(LTC). This offer isn’t able for all countries yet but may expand soon enough. PayPal has also been granted a first-of-its-kind conditional Bitlicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Increasing the Utility of Cryptocurrency in Digital Commerce
PayPal customers can get the option to use their cryptocurrency holdings as a funding source in order to pay at 26 million merchants around the world. PayPal consumers can instantly convert their selected cryptocurrency balance into fiat currency with certainty of value and without any incremental fees, while no additional integrations or merchant fees are necessary thanks to all transactions being settled for fiat currencies according to current PayPal rates.
Exploring and Investing in the Next Generation of Financial Services Infrastructure
The team at PayPal has been exploring the potential of digital currencies for five years, and they’ve recently increased their focus on “the next generation” of financial services. With partnerships with licensed and regulated cryptocurrency platforms around the world, as well as central banks from all over – including Japan’s Bank Of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) – these experts are looking to push us into a future where money will be easier than ever before. In 2019, PayPal Ventures invested in TRM Labs and Cambridge Blockchain to help financial institutions fight fraud. The company intends to work with regulators, governments and central banks for the greater good of society by making finance faster, more secure and less expensive through distributed ledger technology.
About PayPal
PayPal has been a driving force of the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. Thanks to its cutting-edge technology, PayPal provides people with financial services and commerce options that make life easier, cheaper, and safer by enabling them to join in global economies around the world from their homes or phones. For information about how you can help redefine finance like never before visit paypal.com
Forward-Looking Statements
PayPal is preparing for a future in which cryptocurrencies are the norm and they plan to be at the forefront of this revolution. They have announced plans with respect to their cryptocurrency initiatives, including merchant acceptance, new form factors such as hardware wallets and payment cards, integration into popular commerce platforms like eBay’s Magento Connect ecommerce software suite or Square’s Point-of-Sale systems that will let merchants seamlessly accept crypto payments from customers on these platforms.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. More information about these and other factors can be found in PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and its future filings with the SEC.
PayPal makes forward-looking statements about their future plans and how they may or may not affect the public. PayPal is careful to avoid making promises that cannot be kept, but still offers enough information for investors to make educated decisions on whether or not now would be a good time for them to invest in PayPal stock.
