Payza Becomes the First Payment Platform to Offer Bitcoin Services

Payza, one of the leading global payment platforms, announced May 15 that it would include bitcoin to its payment options and treat it like any other fiat currency. Members of the platform can now hold their bitcoins directly in their eWallets, and use it to perform payments. Additionally, Payza members can instantly send and receive bitcoin to and from other members.

Payza, an award-winning payment processor technology company, provides businesses and consumers around the world with practical solutions for processing online payments. Payza caters to traditional and emerging markets, offering 26 currencies and serving over 13 million members in more than 190 countries. The payments company also provides a wide range of built-in tools including; online payment processing, online global money transfers, fraud screening, subscription billing, transaction dispute resolution, cryptocurrency exchange services, and global payouts.

Payza’s Global Executive Vice President Firoz Patel stated:

“We were among the first online payment platforms and eWallet providers to embrace Bitcoin back in 2014, even then we recognized the important role Bitcoin was set to play in eCommerce. The ultimate goal was to provide our members a secure option to store their bitcoins in their Payza accounts. Today, we fulfill our promise to our members and are now able to treat Bitcoin like any other currency we deal with. This means that every Payza member can now hold Bitcoin in their eWallets, and send and receive Bitcoin throughout our network, just like they would with USD, Euros or Sterling.”

Merchants who use Payza to process online payments will also have the option to receive bitcoin as payment for their products. Previously, all payments made by bitcoin were automatically converted to fiat currency. With the May 15 announcement, apart from being able to convert bitcoin to fiat automatically, merchants also have the choice to keep those payments in bitcoin in their eWallets and choose to convert the funds themselves. Merchants will also have the option to set their prices directly in bitcoin without setting that price in a traditional currency like U.S. dollars.

Patel commented, “We feel that the services announced today are perfect for people who are interested in Bitcoin, but are intimidated by the security risks and technical knowledge seemingly required to use them.”

The fee for these Bitcoin services will have about 1.2 percent cost per transaction, which is lower than the standard Payza receiving fee of 2.9 percent and a surcharge of $0.30.

Payza introduced bitcoin withdrawals in 2014, which became one of the easiest ways to buy bitcoin online. Within three months, Payza then announced bitcoin deposits, an equally simple way to sell the cryptocurrency. In May 2015, Payza launched a bitcoin payment option, where payments with the cryptocurrency were immediately converted and settled in USD to help avoid the risk associated with BTC-USD’s volatility.

Patel explains:

“We’re very excited about these new features because it positions Payza as one of the best options for Bitcoin neophytes who are ready to experiment with cryptocurrencies, we wanted to provide a worry-free way for our members to exchange and hold Bitcoin.”

Payza’s Vice President also offered insight into the company’s upcoming cryptocurrency projects:

“On top of the features announced today, Payza will be unveiling more Bitcoin and cryptocurrency features in the coming weeks and months. We are on track to launch full cryptocurrency exchange services, providing current and future crypto-enthusiasts the ability to exchange dozens of cryptocurrencies, not just Bitcoin, within their Payza accounts. We are also enhancing our Payza Card service: Payza members will soon be able to exchange Bitcoin in their Payza eWallets to instantly load their Payza Cards with U.S. dollars.”

With this change, Payza becomes the first Multinational payment processor to allow users anywhere in the world to use bitcoin like any other currency. The company’s move might influence many other payment processors to come forth and start offering bitcoin services to its users, given that Payza is also one of PayPal’s biggest competitors.