New fees for crypto transactions on PayPal, Venmo go into effect

New fees for cryptocurrency transactions through Venmo and its parent company PayPal went into effect Monday.

The two companies previously charged a flat $0.50 fee for cryptocurrency transactions up to $25, a 2.3 percent fee for purchases or sales between $25 and $100 and a 2 percent fee for transactions between $100 and $200.

Starting Monday, transactions up to that $200 mark will carry a minimum flat fee. There will be a $0.49 fee up to $5, a $0.99 cent fee up to $25, a $1.99 fee up to $75 and a $2.49 fee for the rest of transactions up to $200.

Transactions over $200 will keep the same percentage fees as they did previously, 1.8 percent for purchases or sales up to $1,000 and 1.5 percent for anything above that.

“In an effort to streamline our existing pricing structure, we will be introducing a flat-fee structure for cryptocurrency transactions (buying and selling) under USD$200 on PayPal and Venmo, removing the complexity of percentage-based calculations for the consumer,” a PayPal spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.

“This change is part of our ongoing commitment to provide transparency, ease of understanding and clarity to our customers,” they added. 

PayPal and Venmo currently offer customers the ability to buy, sell and use bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash.