As digital payments continue to gain mainstream adoption, digital payment firms have begun to restructure their payment platforms to cater to the ever-growing number of cryptocurrency users. This is the case with the payment giant PayPal, whose CEO recently rolled out plans of integrating cryptocurrency with the payment platform while advancing user features.
In a conference call with investors, the head of PayPal Dan Schulman explained that the advancement in functionality is already in motion, highlighting how users of its Venmo app were able to receive their Stimulus check for the first time, directly from the app.
The implementation of this new feature indicates that PayPal is paying attention to customers’ needs. In line with that, Schulman added that buying, selling, and holding digital currencies will be made available on the Venmo app before the month runs out.
As paraphrased from his comments:
“Later in this month, our Venmo credit card will be available to 100% of our base. And in the coming months, we will launch the ability to buy, hold and sell crypto via the Venmo app. And finally, our revamped Pay with Venmo experience will launch in Q2, offering a best-in-class checkout experience.”
Schulman further revealed plans to include advanced finance tools in the platform. Savings tools, along with a wider range of investment assets, including Cryptocurrencies will be made accessible for users of the platform. Excerpts from his statement read: “…to introduce even more functionality, including budget and savings tools, investment alternatives, including, but not limited to crypto, and enhanced bill pay options.”
It was also announced during the conference call that PayPal’s fourth-quarter revenue crossed $6 billion; a 3x surge from last year’s profit. Last year, 73 million new users were ushered to the platform. This year, Schulman anticipates the arrival of 50 million new accounts. In part, the CEO credits the upswing in adoption to the QR code payment feature, where a 19% increase in payment volume has been recorded.
According to Schulman, the “super app transcends across payments, commerce, and financial services, all of that on a common platform, all of that leveraging common data elements and machine learning on top of that to give next best recommendations.”
The new development is crucial for digital currencies to hit the mainstream fintech market. With other payment platforms like Square, Mastercard following suit, Bitcoin could easily continue to unseat a handful of fiat currencies while sustaining its value over time.
