PayPal Users in the UK Can Buy, Hold and Sell Cryptocurrency This is the first international expansion of PayPal's cryptocurrency service outside of the United States.
By Emily Rella
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PayPal announced Monday that customers in the United Kingdom will be able to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency this week. Specifically, they can make transactions with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.
There are no fees to hold crypto on PayPal, but there are transaction fees and currency conversion fees for buying and selling.
According to a release, the move will enable secure, responsible access to cryptocurrency and encourage users to research and learn about opportunities and risks before making transactions. Through PayPal's website or mobile app, customers can not only see real-time prices, but access educational content to help them make informed choices. They'll choose from predetermined purchase amounts or enter their own and after selling cryptocurrency, "funds are normally available quickly to spend in their PayPal account," the company said.
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This is the first international expansion of PayPal's cryptocurrency service outside of the United States. The release points out that this could help the exploration of cryptocurrency become mainstream in the UK.
"The pandemic has accelerated digital change and innovation across all aspects of our lives— including the digitisation of money and greater consumer adoption of digital financial services," said a statement from Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Vice President and General Manager, Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies at PayPal.
He went on, "Our global reach, digital payments expertise, and knowledge of consumer and businesses, combined with rigorous security and compliance controls provides us the unique opportunity, and the responsibility, to help people in the UK to explore cryptocurrency. We are committed to continue working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support—and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce."
PayPal announced last October that it would allow American customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies. In March of this year, PayPal launched "Checkout with Crypto" to enable customers in the United States to make purchases. Venmo, owned by PayPal, rolled out cryptocurrency services in April.
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