PayPal has partnered with 3 Bitcoin payment processors - BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin - to facilitate PayPal users making payments using the crypto-currency. The move is intended to enable digital merchants (selling music, etc.) to accept Bitcoin payments, initially in the United States and Canada, and ultimately to additional markets.
Owned by eBay, PayPal is the planet’s most recognizable ecommerce and money transfer solution. Established in 1998 and with headquarters in Palo Alto, California, United States, the company’s founders included Elon Musk, who has gone on to establish Tesla Motors and SpaceX.
PayPal has chosen BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin because of the levels of protection they offer Bitcoin users. The partnership means that PayPal will not itself be processing Bitcoin payments - this will be left to its new partners. In addition, the new service will not support sellers who require payments before delivering a service to safeguard users against companies that could close without giving refunds.
“PayPal has always embraced innovation, but always in ways that make payments safer and more reliable for our customers,” explained Scott Ellison, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at PayPal in a statement. “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”.
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