The service is initially available only to a handful of PayPal users as part of a beta, but it should eventually be available to all Americans with "eligible" MasterCard or Visa debit cards in the months ahead. And if you're not in a rush, regular bank transfers will remain free.

The addition could help if you've been drifting toward alternatives like Zelle. You may be more likely to use PayPal if you know that you can always get your cash in a hurry. At the same time, it's another way for PayPal to generate income. A 25-cent fee may not sound like much, but it could add up. The company racked up 1.7 billion transactions just in its latest quarter -- if even a fraction of those users pay to speed things up, that could amount to tens of millions of dollars in revenue. You may not like giving up a tiny amount of your money just to get your money, but it would definitely help PayPal's bottom line.