The era of mainstream adoption for crypto payments is at hand according to PayPal CEO, Dan Schulman.
As more consumers go cashless, crypto and digital currencies are becoming increasingly popular.
The coronavirus pandemic is also triggering a digitization quantum leap of sorts that could ultimately lead to a more broad-based cash jettisoning culture.
Paypal: Crypto Payments Coming into Mainstream Use
In an interview with The New York Times columnist Andrew Ross-Sorkin at the ongoing Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, the PayPal CEO declared that COVID-19 was accelerating the global adoption of cryptos for digital payments.
According to Schulman, what would have taken three to five years is now happening in a significantly shorter time span.
Commenting on the potential for crypto and digital currencies to go mainstream, Schulman opined:
“I think that if you can create a financial system, a new and modern technology that is faster, that is less expensive, more efficient, that’s good for bringing more people into the system, for inclusion, to help drive down costs, to help drive financial health for so many people […] So, over the long run, I’m very bullish on digital currencies of all kinds.”
Schulman’s comments come against the backdrop of PayPal’s recent foray into the crypto space. Back in November, the PayPal chief declared that global digital currency adoption was a matter of “when,” not “if.”
According to a recent survey by Mizuho Securities, about 65% of PayPal customers are ready to utilize crypto for online payments. Indeed, over a fifth of the company’s 346 million active customers have already purchased cryptocurrencies on the platform.
Cash Is Not Dead Yet
While the coronavirus-induced digitization quantum leap remains a high possibility, cash is not yet dead, even though its usage shows signs of decline.
According to a 184-page report on consumer payments by the European Central Bank (ECB), cash is still the most popular payment method in the region.
However, the report notes a significant payment culture change among consumers largely driven by improvements in electronic payment channels and fears over banknotes being a medium for spreading the coronavirus.
Government policies that promote cashless transactions are also causing more businesses to remove cash.
With key Eurozone finance stakeholders like the ECB President advocating for a digital Euro, cash usage at least in Europe might be living on borrowed time. Indeed, several governments are pursuing sovereign digital currencies to ward off competition from private stablecoins.
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