PayPal is updating the pricing structure for buying and selling cryptocurrency through the PayPal platform in the UK. The new fees will apply from the 31st of October 2022 and will include a flat fee for crypto transactions under £200 for both buying and selling.
This does beg the questions as to how important crypto is for ecommerce – very few mainstream sites currently support crypto and certainly when I speak to my circle of friends (not in the ecommerce industry), crypto isn’t a payment vehicle they have adopted or even thought about. But, in a world of inflation and spiralling costs, could crypto become a payment option when buying stock? Again, not many suppliers are currently accepting crypto with good reason.
The real problem is that crypto was touted as a currency that could be used to purchase goods, but the reality is that few suppliers or retailers are willing to accept the volatility. Between listing a price and getting paid for an order a supplier could win or lose massively depending which way the wind is blowing. People buy crypto, not to spend it in a store but in the expectation that the value will rise and that they can sell their crypto at a later date to realise a profit.
PayPal got into crypto a few years back and trading virtual currency through them will be more attractive after October. For example, a £200 transaction will cost £2.49 under the new pricing vs. £4.00 in the original pricing. There are no also fees to hold cryptocurrency with PayPal. This change brings PayPal’s UK pricing structure in line with fees in the US.
Customers can buy as little as £1 of cryptocurrency through PayPal with the choice of four types of cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. Customers can choose from pre-determined purchase amounts or enter in their own purchase amount, before following the prompts to buy the cryptocurrency of their choice. Customers will be able to fund their PayPal account for the purchase using their bank account or debit card.
By accessing their PayPal account via the website or the mobile app, customers can view real-time crypto prices and educational content to help them understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the volatility, risks, and opportunities related to purchasing cryptocurrency. The company encourages its customers to do their research on the risks and opportunities for various cryptocurrencies before taking the step to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency with PayPal.
– PayPal
Note, the quote above from PayPal has nothing to do with using crypto to buy or sell goods in the real world, PayPal also seem to be in the mindset that anyone buying and selling virtual currency are doing to merely to own virtual currency with little expectation that they will transact with it today.
PayPal support transactions in four cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.
The new PayPal UK fees for buying or selling crypto currency, from the 31st of October, will be £0.49 for transactions between £1 adn £4.99, £0.99 between £5 and £24.99, £1.99 between £25 and £74.99, £2.49 between £75 and £200, 1.8% between £200.01 and £1000 and 1.5% for transcations over £1000.
4 Responses
When everyone and their dog is telling you to invest in something, that’s the time to run away. Something Warren Buffet said about when even the shoe shine boy tells you to buy stock in X company. That’s a bad sign.
Basically the early adopters – people at the top of the pyramid (let’s call it) have been sucking in everyone’s life saving over the past few years so that they can cash out.
Crypto is way too volatile as a serious investment. NFTs even more ridiculously so…virtual Beanie Babies except at least you used to get an actual toy.
Big problems occur when people don’t really understand what they’re investing in, when the thing they’re investing in has no (or very limited) real world utility, and when everyone who is buying it doesn’t really want it but perceive that others wanting it will increase the value.
That was the problem with Beanie Babies…very few people actually WANTED them, but they presumed the market was much bigger than it was. After the handful of serious collectors bought the rarest ones for crazy money (and you could argue some of those sales were an “inside” job) then you were left with no one willing to put any more serious money in, and millions of people stuck with assets they didn’t want.
I did actually buy £10 of Bitcoin through PayPal just for a laugh and its now hovering around £7 worth. More fool you if you put your entire life savings into it though. The time to buy in has long gone.
Only on PayPal personal accounts, NOT business accounts! 🙁