Global Payment Platform Payza Goes Full Bitcoin

Payza on Monday announced the addition of a wide range of bitcoin services. The company also claims to be the first ewallet provider “to treat bitcoin like any fiat currency.” Merchants can now hold bitcoin in their accounts instead of having them automatically converted into fiat currencies. Furthermore, bitcoin payments are protected by Payza’s Resolution Center.

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New Bitcoin Services

Payment technology company Payza helps more than 13 million members in over 190 countries and 26 currencies process online payments. Monday’s announcement adds cryptocurrency exchange services to the mix. The company announced:

Payza, an award-winning global payment platform, today announced that it has become the first ewallet provider to treat bitcoin like any fiat currency.

Payza began offering Bitcoin services to account holders in August 2014, starting with the ability to buy bitcoin using funds in their Payza accounts. In October that year, the company announced a service to allow users to sell bitcoin in order to fund their Payza accounts. Customers’ bitcoins were automatically exchanged into USD “at a competitive exchange rate that is updated in real-time,” the company noted.

Additional bitcoin services introduced on Monday include “instant bitcoin-fiat exchanges and the option to hold bitcoin alongside fiat currency within Payza ewallets.” Payza’s members can now hold bitcoins directly in their Payza ewallets, bypassing the need to have a separate bitcoin wallet to exchange between bitcoin and fiat currencies.

Bitcoin can now be sent and received between Payza members instantly just like fiat currencies such as the USD, euros, or sterling, the company details, adding that:

The fee to receive bitcoin is just 1.2% per transaction, which is lower than the standard Payza receiving fee of 2.9% + $0.30.

Better Bitcoin Payment Solutions for Merchants

In May 2015, Payza launched a bitcoin payment option for merchants to accept bitcoin payments. However, these payments were immediately converted and settled in USD. While their customers could pay in bitcoin before, merchants did not have the option to hold bitcoin as they were all automatically converted into fiat currency.

Now merchants who use Payza for online payment processing will have the additional option of holding bitcoin they receive. The company details:

Merchants will have the option to retain those payments in bitcoin in their ewallets until they 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.

While Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, all purchases made in bitcoin through Payza’s online payment platform “will remain protected by Payza’s Resolution Center, a section within Payza accounts dedicated to resolving transaction disputes between buyers and sellers,” the company noted.

Future Plans

According to Payza’s global executive vice president, Firoz Patel, more bitcoin and cryptocurrency features will be announced in the coming weeks and months. For example, Payza members will soon be able to exchange bitcoin in their Payza ewallets to instantly load their Payza Cards with U.S. dollars. He said:

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.

What do you think of Payza’s new Bitcoin services? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Payza

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