Nikolas Sargeant
PayPal has announced a major international expansion of its dollar-backed stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), making it available to users across 70 markets through their PayPal accounts. The rollout covers regions including Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America, with named markets including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Colombia, Peru, and the United States, among others. Users in remaining markets are expected to gain access in the coming weeks.
Available since 2023 in the US, PYUSD can now be bought, held, sent, and received directly from a PayPal account in newly supported regions. Eligible users can also earn rewards on their holdings, instantly transfer funds to other PayPal users or third-party digital wallets, and convert PYUSD to local currency when making withdrawals.
For businesses, the expansion addresses a long-standing friction point in cross-border commerce. Merchants accepting PYUSD can access settlement proceeds within minutes rather than days, improving liquidity and reducing dependence on traditional payment timelines. PayPal positioned the move as a direct challenge to a global payments infrastructure it described as too slow, too costly, and built for a different era.
May Zabaneh, PayPal's SVP and General Manager of Crypto, framed the expansion as part of a broader effort to build the liquidity and utility needed to make PYUSD a meaningful player in global commerce, not just a product for crypto-native users, but an accessible financial tool for everyday consumers and businesses operating across borders.
