On Wednesday, Block, the financial services firm, disclosed that merchants using Square can convert their daily sales into bitcoin through the Cash App. Block’s founder, Jack Dorsey, revealed this update on X, and as of today, merchants have the option to transfer between 1-10% of their Square-generated earnings into bitcoin, the leading crypto asset by […]
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Byte Federal Launches Point of Sale System for Merchants Seeking to Accept Bitcoin
PRESS RELEASE. Byte Federal, a leading company in the global financial technologies space, is proud to announce the official launch of its point of sale (POS) system, ByteConnect. This product launch marks a significant expansion of Byte Federal’s “fintech focused” services, showcasing a commitment to building a full suite of financial tools for economic freedom. […]
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Paypal Offers More Crypto Payment Options for Web3 Merchants in US
Payment processor Paypal announced it’s introducing on- and off-ramps to facilitate crypto payments for Web3 platforms. Once integrated, merchants in the sector will be able to employ them to expand their user base by connecting to Paypal’s payments system.
Paypal Launches On- and Off-Ramps for Web3 Payments
Payments giant Paypal revealed on Monday it’s moving to further increase access to crypto by offering wallets, decentralized apps (dapps) and marketplaces for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) a simple solution to enable their customers to buy and sell supported cryptocurrencies in the U.S.
This can be achieved through an integration with the Paypal On and Off Ramps, subject to applicable state laws, the company said, adding:
Once integrated, Web3 merchants can help grow their user base by connecting to Paypal’s fast and seamless payments experience trusted by millions, while leveraging Paypal’s robust security controls and tools for fraud management, chargebacks and disputes.
The fintech firm reminded that it previously launched its on-ramps to enable consumers in the United States to directly buy crypto assets with Paypal through integrations with the Metamask and Ledger wallets.
Adding off-ramps will now allow crypto wallet holders in the United States to directly convert cryptocurrencies to U.S. dollars into their Paypal balance and then use the money to shop, send, save, or transfer to their bank or debit card.
Paypal’s off-ramps solution is already live on Metamask, the press release noted. Last week, the popular Ethereum wallet introduced a “Sell” option allowing users in the U.S., the U.K., and some European markets to cash out ether (ETH) to major fiat currencies and have the amount sent to a bank account or a Paypal balance.
Do you think Paypal will continue to expand crypto payment services for Web3 businesses? Tell us in the comments section below.
India’s Central Bank Digital Currency Has 1.5M Users, 300K Merchants, Says RBI Chief
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has revealed that India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) now has around 1.5 million users. In addition, over 300,000 merchants are currently accepting payments in digital rupees, and the pilot is being operated through 13 banks in 26 cities.
RBI Governor’s Digital Rupee Update
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das provided an update on the progress of India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot on Wednesday at this year’s Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai. The Indian central bank began its digital rupee pilot for the wholesale segment in November last year, followed by a pilot in the retail segment in December.
The RBI governor revealed that India’s central bank digital currency trial has been rolled out to approximately 1.46 million users. He added that the digital rupee pilot is being operated through 13 banks in 26 cities, and over 300,000 merchants accepted payments in CBDCs as of Aug. 31.
Das further detailed that the RBI has enabled full interoperability of CBDC with UPI QR codes, noting that the central bank is targeting 1 million daily CBDC transactions by December this year, which will provide it with sufficient data points for analysis.
In February, RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar said that 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants had adopted the central bank’s digital currency. By July, he shared that the user base had surged to 1.3 million, with 300,000 merchants accepting the digital rupee.
Moreover, RBI Executive Director Ajay Kumar Choudhary said Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit that the Indian central bank is likely to launch a CBDC pilot for transactions for interbank borrowing or call money market by October. India holds the G20 Presidency this year. Choudhary was quoted by local media as saying:
The RBI will introduce the wholesale CBDC in the call market either this month or next month.
Choudhary believes that the e-rupee will rival cryptocurrency, stating in March that India’s central bank digital currency will act as an alternative to cryptocurrency. Last December, Sankar claimed that India’s CBDC should be able to do anything crypto can do without risks.
What do you think about the progress of India’s central bank digital currency? Let us know in the comments section below.
Ripple Survey Suggests Latam Merchants Will Adopt Crypto Payments Massively After Three Years
Latam merchants will be slower in adopting cryptocurrency payments compared to merchants in other regions, according to the latest payments survey conducted by Ripple and the Faster Payments Council. The survey, which polled close to 300 payment leaders at a worldwide level, suggests that massive crypto adoption for payments will solidify in three years.
Ripple Crypto Payments Study Shows Latam Will Lag Compared to Other Regions
The latest crypto payments study conducted by Ripple and the Faster Payments Council, a U.S. membership-based organization, shows that Latam merchants will take more time to implement cryptocurrency-based solutions when compared to other regions. The paper, which seeks to understand and measure the impact that cryptocurrency will have on the payments arena in the future, shows that other regions will have the edge in the area even with Latam’s difficulties regarding inflation and fiat currency devaluation.
Of the almost 300 payment institutions consulted in the poll, 67% believe that the boom in cryptocurrency payment adoption in Latam will occur more than three years from now. Comparatively, when dealing with regions like Africa, the poll shows that more than 80% of these leaders believe that more than 50% of the merchants will adopt crypto payments in less than three years from now.
Latam falls behind other regions like Europe and APAC, which also enjoy more favorable predictions for the massive implementation of cryptocurrency payments.
The Future of Cryptocurrency Payments
The survey presents a favorable panorama for crypto payments, viewed by leaders in the industry as a way of complementing the legacy payments system. The new blockchain-based system presents several advantages, including reduced process complexity, lower costs, and enhanced transparency, according to the report.
One of the biggest improvements of the new crypto-based payments system is said to reside in the ability to make cross-border settlements cheaper and easier. Juniper Payments, one of the members of the Faster Payment Council, estimated that institutions would save billion by 2030 by using the alternative crypto system to settle payments.
In fact, this is one of the biggest advantages reported as key to the adoption of crypto for payments. Almost 70% of the institutions polled answered that the lower cost of the payment was the largest benefit of using blockchain tech for payments.
Digital adoption for payments is already growing in countries like Argentina, where QR payments, which can also involve cryptocurrency transactions, are breaking records in their utilization.
What do you think about the adoption of crypto payments in Latam? Tell us in the comments section below.
Btcpay Introduces New Coinjoin Plugin for Enhanced Bitcoin Privacy for Merchants
On Monday, Wasabi Wallet and the open-source bitcoin payment processor Btcpay announced a new plugin for the Btcpay server. The plugin implements Wasabi’s Wabisabi coinjoin coordination protocol, allowing merchants to benefit from privacy enhancement. By activating the newly launched plugin, all the funds that merchants receive and send will be coinjoined, or mixed together with other bitcoin transactions.
New Btcpay Server Plugin Aims to Bolster Bitcoin Privacy
According to an announcement from the privacy-centric bitcoin wallet platform Wasabi Wallet and the bitcoin payment processor Btcpay, merchants now have the ability to obfuscate their incoming and outgoing bitcoin (BTC) transactions.
The technology comes in the form of a new plugin for Btcpay, which was developed by Andrew Camilleri and based on Wasabi Wallet’s Wabisabi coinjoin coordination protocol. The Btcpay plugin’s scheme “protects the privacy of all their incoming and outgoing transactions by preventing sensitive information about their store’s payment history from leaking to unconcerned parties,” Wasabi explained in a summary sent to Bitcoin.com News.
“Btcpay Server was created to empower individuals and businesses to regain their financial sovereignty,” said Kukks, the developer of the Btcpay Coinjoin Plugin, in a statement. “The Wasabi Wallet team and I are proud to offer even more privacy protection with this new coinjoin feature. I believe that financial privacy is a fundamental human right, this feature is my contribution to that cause.”
The announcement details that all Btcpay Server merchants can utilize the coinjoin process with a liquid coordinator provided by Zksnacks, the firm behind Wasabi Wallet. Moreover, Btcpay Server administrators can start their own coinjoin coordinators on their own terms if they choose not to use the Zksnacks coordinator. The two firms further mentioned that the new coinjoin service also provides a payment batching feature that saves block space.
“It only made sense that it would include an optional coinjoin plugin with the most sophisticated privacy-enhancing tool for bitcoin,” Max Hillebrand, Wasabi Wallet contributor and the CEO at Zksnacks said. “As a coinjoin protocol, Wabisabi has been designed with merchants in mind, enabling payments inside coinjoin and optimizing block space usage to save on fees.”
Btcpay is not the only company that has collaborated with Wasabi and introduced the privacy-enhancing coinjoin technology. In September 2022, Trezor announced that it was adding a coinjoin implementation into the firm’s hardware wallet.
What do you think about the new Btcpay Server plugin and its potential impact on enhancing bitcoin privacy for merchants? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
India’s Central Bank Reveals 50,000 Users and 5,000 Merchants Now Using Digital Rupee
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has revealed that 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants are now using its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Digital rupee transactions are currently processed by eight banks, with five more banks set to join the pilot soon, said RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar.
Digital Rupee Now Has 50,000 Users
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar said Wednesday that the central bank’s digital currency pilot has reached its first milestones.
The RBI official revealed that India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) now has 50,000 users and is accepted by 5,000 merchants. The retail digital rupee pilot, which began on Dec. 1 last year, is taking place in five Indian cities but the central bank plans to gradually add nine more cities. So far, about 770,000 digital rupee transactions have been processed by eight banks. The RBI plans to add five more banks to the pilot soon.
The central banker emphasized that the Reserve Bank of India intends to move forward cautiously with the digital rupee initiative to prevent taking actions without a full understanding of their potential impact.
“We have our targets in terms of users, in terms of merchants. We will go slowly,” he stressed, elaborating:
We want the process to happen, but we want the process to happen gradually and slowly. We are in no hurry to make something happen so quickly.
India’s largest retailer, Reliance Retail, announced last week that it plans to accept payments in digital rupees. The retail chain has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and fintech Innoviti Technologies to add support for the central bank’s digital currency in its gourmet store line Freshpik across the country.
According to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker, 114 countries, representing over 95% of global GDP, are currently exploring a central bank digital currency.
RBI Still Skeptical of Cryptocurrencies
Meanwhile, India’s central bank has continued to recommend a complete ban on cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has warned that cryptocurrencies are a risk to the country’s financial system and will cause the next financial crisis if they are not banned.
Moreover, the RBI governor said last month that “cryptocurrency does not have any underlying value,” warning that “It will undermine the authority of the RBI and lead to the dollarisation of the economy.” Other RBI officials have similarly cautioned that crypto could lead to the dollarization of a part of India’s economy “which will be against the country’s sovereign interest.”
What do you think about the progress of the digital rupee pilot? Let us know in the comments section below.
Verifone Brings Bitcoin Payments To Thousands Of Merchants Across The U.S.
Bitcoin payments are gaining traction as the asset price has grown. With El Salvador making the cryptocurrency a legal tender, it is only a matter of time until other countries follow in its footsteps. Making the implementation of BTC payments important for companies who want to stay competitive in the long run. Major outlets have begun to accept crypto payments.
The latest of these has been AMC Theaters, which announced that it was going to begin accepting payments in various cryptocurrencies by the end of the year. This will enable theatergoers to pay for their tickets and concessions using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, with the addition of Dogecoin currently in the pipeline. Now joining the ranks of institutions accepting BTC payments is technology company Verifone.
Related Reading | JPMorgan CEO Doesn’t Care If Bitcoin Grows 10X In Five Years
Bringing Bitcoin Payments To The Forefront
Thanks to a recent partnership, Verifone has now brought bitcoin payments to thousands of merchants across the United States. The company which is known for producing payments processing technology is now bringing a new solution to its users. Verifone is one of the largest suppliers of credit card reader machines in the world. With its already established notoriety, it is now enabling the merchants who use its payments technology to accept cryptocurrency payments.
BTC price falls to K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Verifone partnered with Bitpay in order to merchants who desire to accept bitcoin payments. Bitpay will mitigate volatility issues by directly sending the BTC payments straight to the merchants’ accounts via fiat currency. This means that when a user pays for a good or service using bitcoin, the equivalent dollar amount of the bitcoin collected will be automatically deposited into the merchant’s bank account.
BitPay is one of the leading crypto payments processors in the world and with over 30,000 bitcoin transactions processed every month, it puts it in a prime position to help Verifone bring this service to the public.
Buy And Pay How You Want
Being able to spend bitcoin has been a pain point for the industry since day 1. Due to this, the digital currency has been mostly relegated to being just an investment asset rather than being used as an actual real-world currency. But growing popularity among users has prompted companies to start considering and accepting, BTC payments for the goods and services which they offer.
Related Reading | Over Billion In Bitcoin And Ethereum Moved From Cold Wallets Amid China Crackdown
Verifone has stepped up to take on the mantle of making bitcoin transactions easier and seamless. According to Mike Pulli, CEO of Verifone, the company has received massive interest for its latest offering. Explaining that the company already has a backlog of merchants who are interested in implementing BTC payments. “There’s lots and lots of interest. I think our phones will be ringing off the hook,” Pulli said.
Although the company is yet to disclose which merchants are going to be accepting BTC payments, Pulli explained that the partnership was made in a bid to give consumers more options. “If they decide to buy a pizza with Visa or AmEx or crypto, we don’t care. We just want to give them the flexibility to pay the way they want to,” the CEO said in an interview.
Featured image from Investopedia, chart from TradingView.com
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