Paypal Now Accepts Bitcoin, Opening the Way for Millions of Users and Mainstream Adoption
From the Binance news, we learn that Paypal has announced integration of Bitcoin payments into its network.
Naturally, this is US only for now and it makes sense to iron out the kinks before opening the floodgates. Let’s not forget that when Paypal first opened up shop it had to hold the scammers and hackers of the entire world at bay. This constant threat of attack is what turned that first group of computer engineers into the famous Paypal Mafia, which includes people like Elon Musk and every CEO of any major tech company that you now know and love.
Note: This is not financial advice. You should consult your accountant or your financial advisor for any decisions you make.
Adopting crypto payments is a whole other can of worms, so yes. It’s worth waiting for them to get it right, since they have millions of users to consider.
Customers will be able select their cryptocurrency of choice — Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum or Bitcoin Cash, depending on what they are holding with PayPal and the balances available in each cryptocurrency. Only one type of cryptocurrency can be used for each purchase.
“As the use of digital payments and digital currencies accelerates, the introduction of Checkout with Crypto continues our focus on driving mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, while continuing to offer PayPal customers choice and flexibility in the ways they can pay using the PayPal wallet,” Schulman said. “Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies.”
A few years ago I tried to add crypto payments to my eshops, even becoming the first pharmacy eshop to accept Bitcoin in Greece. Frankly, it wasn’t worth the hassle back then. Basically the checkout process was that you’d present a payment address to the customer at the checkout process, wait for them to send over the funds and then doublecheck it manually in your wallet and complete the order.
In case of a refund, I’d have to pay the fee again in the network. Yes, I know that with some Ethereum implementation I could possibly put in a smart contract but I’m not really a dapp developer, especially not one to make something that handles money.
What I actually wanted was a service just like Paypal, one that would accept Bitcoin and other major crypto with no hassle from my end. For consumers I didn’t mind paying some extra fee for proper integration with my Woocommerce shop. The solution I found only this year was Opennode, but I can’t actually suggest this service as I haven’t had any customer use that payment option so far.
I do have manual crypto payments on my Mythography Studios shop where I do accept Bitcoin, Lightning payments, Ethereum and Litecoin.
Even as a computer-savvy web designer, I still want something that’s robust and hassle-free. I want integration with my shop, I want plugins that get regular updates, I want easy automated refunds for my customers, and I’m willing to pay a fee for all that.
So, yes. I think this news is great, both for Bitcoiners since they’re going mainstream and Paypal will help on ramp users into the network, and I do plan to use it on my eshops as soon as they support European crypto payments. This also helps stabilize Bitcoin in general, so it sounds like a good time to get some Bitcoin if you haven’t already.
