PayPal Links are personalized links for sending and receiving money and cryptocurrency
PayPal has announced the launch of a new payment option called PayPal Links. The new system of personalized one-time links makes it easier to both send and receive money, including cryptocurrency.
PayPal Links have been designed for quick and easy sharing via email, text message, chat or social media. The links can be configured for sending money or requesting it, and the company is putting a great deal of focus on how easily links can be created – and by extension how quickly payments or money requests can be made.
Initially launching in the US, but due to spread to Italy, the UK and other regions in the coming weeks, PayPal concedes that PayPal Link also serve as a way of bringing more people into the PayPal ecosystem.
Announcing the launch, PayPal says: “On the heels of the PayPal World announcement, a global platform connecting the world's largest digital payment systems and wallets, PayPal today introduced PayPal links, a new way to send and receive money through a personalized, one-time link that can be shared in any conversation”.
The company continues:
PayPal users in the U.S. can begin creating personalized payment links today, with international expansion to the UK, Italy, and other markets starting later this month. By making payments this simple and universal, PayPal links helps drive new customer acquisition and brings more users into the PayPal ecosystem.
To start with, the focus is on the sending and receiving of money in the traditional sense, but this is set to change soon. In the not-too-distant future, cryptocurrencies will be integrated into the system, as PayPal explains:
The peer-to-peer (P2P) experience is about to go even further. Crypto will soon be directly integrated into PayPal's new P2P payment flow in the app. This will make it more convenient for PayPal users in the U.S. to send Bitcoin, Ethereum, PYUSD, and more, to PayPal, Venmo, as well a rapidly growing number of digital wallets across the world that support crypto and stablecoins.
Expanding what people can do with PayPal also comes with reassurance around how personal payments are handled. As always, friends-and-family transfers through Venmo and PayPal are exempt from 1099-K reporting. Users won't receive tax forms for gifts, reimbursements, or splitting expenses, helping ensure that personal payments stay personal.
Highlighting just how simple the PayPal Links system is, the “how to” guide is just a few steps in length:
- Create a personalized link – Open the PayPal app, enter the details of your payment or request, and generate a unique, one-time link to share.
- Always the right person – Each link is private, one-time use, and created for a specific transaction.
- Drop it anywhere – Send your link in a text, DM, email, or chat. Add a note, emoji, or payment note.
- Manage payment activity: Unclaimed links expire after 10 days. Users can send a reminder or even cancel the payment or request before the link is claimed with the PayPal app.
- Tap and done – The recipient taps the link and either completes or accepts the payment within the PayPal App with their PayPal account.
- Funds are instant – the recipient will get immediate access to their funds with a PayPal Balance account once accepted.
Diego Scotti, General Manager, Consumer Group at PayPal sees this as the next step in PayPal money revolution:
Whether you're texting, messaging, or emailing, now your money follows your conversations. Combined with PayPal World, it's an unbeatable value proposition, showing up where people connect, making it effortless to pay your friends and family, no matter where they are or what app they're using.
You can find out more about PayPal Links here.