BitPay has announced that its card users can now connect to Apple Wallet and pay for goods and services using Apple Pay.
Stephen Pair, the CEO of BitPay, said:
“We have thousands of BitPay Wallet app customers using the BitPay Card who are always looking for new places and ways to spend their crypto. Adding Apple Pay and soon Google and Samsung Pay makes it easy and convenient to use the BitPay Card in more places from day-to-day items to luxury purchases.”
It has been reported that currently, BitPay allows for payments in BTC, ETH, Bitcoin Cash, and a variety of stablecoins.
However, this Apple Pay integration seems to be part of a wider strategy from BitPay to capitalize on the momentum of the ongoing crypto bull run. BitPay also filed with the OCC to become a national trust bank late last year. The Apple Pay press release noted that “support for Google Pay and Samsung Pay is planned for later this quarter.”
The report said that the move is a significant one for crypto HODlers looking to spend their digital currency in the real world, given Apple Pay’s size and market saturation. A recent report says that Apple Pay is well on its way to accounting for 10% of all card transactions by 2025 (compared to its current 5% share).
BitPay prepaid card holders can now connect to Apple Wallet and use Apple Pay for purchases! Is this just the first in a series of larger crypto moves for Apple? https://t.co/m3TiTwwj6Q — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) February 13, 2021
BitPay’s integration may also allow for additional utility for users of the Apple Card, an initiative launched with Goldman Sachs to allow Apple Pay users to earn cash back on purchases.
It has been analyzed that Apple Pay currently has over 380 million users worldwide.
This may also be just the first of many Apple-related cryptocurrency developments.
Thus, Apple currently has nearly $200 billion in cash on hand, and pressure may be mounting for the company to follow Tesla’s lead in purchasing cryptocurrency.
Source: Cointelegraph