PayPal and Venmo have announced that they are looking to increase the fees they are charging on small cryptocurrency transactions.

Thus, according to the new plan which is particularly focused on smaller crypto transactions, the process becomes more expensive than before. Typically, A simple $10 cryptocurrency purchase will soon cost twice as much as it did before.

Current fee:  At present, a minimum fee of $0.50 is charged for crypto purchases or sales between $1 and $24.99.

Increased fee:  From there, a flat fee of 2.3% is charged for transactions between $25 and $100 — decreasing to 2% for those worth $100.01 to $200.

All of this is going to change from March 21, 2022 and Venmo will be processing a flat dollar fee from then.

New tiers are being introduced, and a fee of $0.49 will only be available for crypto purchase or sale amounts between $1 and $4.99. Charges will then jump to $0.99 for transactions between $5 and $24.99 — and to $1.99 for those between $25 and $74.99. Finally, a $2.49 fee will be in place when crypto worth between $75 and $200 is bought or sold.

Right now, someone buying $75 of crypto would end up spending $1.72 on fees — but this will rise to $2.49 when the changes come into effect, an increase of 44%.

Who will get benefited?  This new fee structure will be particularly helpful for those buying or selling between $125 and $200 worth of cryptocurrency, because this will help them save money.

The fees related to bigger transactions remain the same, which means a 1.8% cut will continue to be taken when cryptocurrency worth $200.01 to $1,000 is bought or sold. This falls to 1.5% for transactions worth more than $1,000.

Venmo and its parent company PayPal are already popular outlets for those looking to start off buying and selling crypto.

But both platforms only have a limited repertoire of digital assets available: Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Crypto-focused exchanges are beginning to have a greater selection of coins on offer.  Thus, providing for a broader range of features with a competitive fee. However, when it comes to usability, it falls down.

Thus, making Venmo and PayPal a convenient option for those who are familiar with how digital assets work.

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

It is very obvious that transaction fees tend to vary wildly between rival platforms and sometimes within the company itself.