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PayPal Introduces A Stablecoin That’s Pegged With US Dollar
PayPal USD can be used to make purchases or pay other users.
Almost three years after adding cryptocurrency support for all US accounts, PayPal has launched its own stablecoin pegged against the US dollar. The new coin, known as PayPal USD, is “100 percent backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries and similar cash equivalents,” according to the company.
PayPal went on to explain that its coin is issued on the Ethereum blockchain by the Paxos Trust Company, which is overseen by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The company also obtained a BitLicense from the NYDFS in June 2022.
PayPal USD coins can be bought and sold for $1 each. The currency can be used to purchase goods and services by selecting the option during any checkout session with PayPal. Users can also transfer the new cryptocurrency to external wallets or convert them to other coins in their accounts.
Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East
In a recent interview with Reuters, Ian Katz, managing director of Capital Alpha Partners, noted that the stablecoin could soon be in the sights of the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Time will tell if the company’s crypto venture can become a success.
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Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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