Turns Out PayPal Was Serious About Moving Into Crypto

Turns Out PayPal Was Serious About Moving Into Crypto

PayPal has updated its app, which is fine and a completely normal thing for companies to do, except for the fact you can now hold and sell crypto in it.

PayPal announced it was getting into the cryptocurrency game last October after receiving a conditional BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The BitLicense allows PayPal to buy, sell and hold bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, and litecoin.

The company launched Checkout With Crypto in March, allowing you to, well, check out with crypto. And the new app brings this dream further to life for the once go-to service to buy low-value gear from eBay.

Adding crypto capabilities allows PayPal to push its dream to be the “primary destination for customers to easily manage their day-to-day financial lives”.

The updated app also introduces PayPal Savings, a new ‘high yield’ savings account provided by Synchrony Bank, alongside new in-app shopping tools that will enable the earning of rewards redeemable for cash back or PayPal shopping credit.

Further updates to the app include a bill management capability, direct deposit feature, the ability to pay with QR codes and manage your credit cards and buy now, pay later services.

“We’re excited to introduce the first version of the new PayPal app, a one-stop destination for our customers to take charge of their everyday financial lives, with new features like access to high yield savings, in-app shopping tools for customers to find deals and earn cash back rewards, early access Direct Deposit, and bill pay,” PayPal president and CEO Dan Schulman said.

“Our new app offers customers a simplified, secure and personalised experience that builds on our platform of trust and security and removes the complexity of having to manage multiple financial or shopping apps, remember different passwords and track loyalty rewards.”

The new “intelligent digital wallet powered by PayPal’s artificial intelligence and machine learning” is starting to roll out today, and PayPal Savings and new shopping tools and rewards are planned to start rolling out to customers in the U.S. in the coming months.

No word yet on whether this PayPal update will be available in Australia. But it is worth remembering that the ATO does indeed tax your crypto.


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