PayPal is taking another small step in helping digital currency, particularly bitcoin, enter the mainstream by helping their merchants accept bitcoin payments. The leader in online payments is pairing up with Bitcoin processors BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin to allow digital goods (ring tones, games, etc) merchants to take bitcoin with an integration through the PayPal Payments Hub. Starting today in North America, bitcoin is open for business on PayPal.
“We chose to work with BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin because of our commitment to offering innovative and safer ways for businesses to accept payments. All three companies have taken steps to ensure that they know their customers and that those customers are offered certain protections. We believe digital goods merchants will be excited to work with these industry-leading companies to sell ringtones, games and music and get paid with Bitcoin,” the company reported on its blog.
However, though the company is interested in allowing more opportunities for the use of digital currency on its platform, it also firmly noted that this announcement does not signal the beginning of open season for bitcoin at PayPal.
“To be clear, today’s news does not mean that PayPal has added Bitcoin as a currency in our digital wallet or that Bitcoin payments will be processed on our secure payments platform. PayPal has always embraced innovation, but always in ways that make payments safer and more reliable for our customers. Our approach to Bitcoin is no different. That’s why we’re proceeding gradually, supporting Bitcoin in some ways today and holding off on other ways until we see how things develop.”
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
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