Online payment giant PayPal has completed the payment of an invoice to Ernst & Young (EY) using PayPal USD (PYUSD), its proprietary stablecoin. PYUSD is an Ethereum-based stablecoin backed 100 per cent by US dollars, short-term US government bonds and similar equivalents.

The company confirmed to Bloomberg that the payment to accounting firm EY was completed in September, marking the first time the FinTech has made a commercial payment using the technology.

Senior vice president of blockchain, crypto and digital currency at PayPal Jose Fernandez da Ponte told the publication that cross border transactions can be especially expensive, with the payment demonstrating how stablecoins are now able to offer a viable alternative.

“The enterprise environment is very well suited for it, it’s a very rational conversation to have with the CFO,” he said.

PayPal used its proprietary technology to complete an investment for the first time in January.

The company bought a stake in Mesh, an integrated financial platform, with the transaction representing the first time that the PYUSD was being used as a financing instrument for an investment by PayPal Ventures.

With the transaction, the PYUSD funds were chained using Mesh's Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

PYUSD’s roll out was first announced in August 2023.

“The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the U.S. dollar,” said Dan Schulman, PayPal’s president and chief executive in statement at the time. “Our commitment to responsible innovation and compliance, and our track record delivering new experiences to our customers, provides the foundation necessary to contribute to the growth of digital payments through PayPal USD.” 

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