International payments platform GoCoin has announced a technology partnership with point-of-sales (POS) service provider Apriva.

Apriva’s Gateway connects payment devices, merchant acquirers and payment processors to deploy and manage wireless payments. The new deal will allow it to process payments in multiple digital currencies including bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin.

Stacey Finley Tappin, Apriva’s senior vice president of sales and marketing communications for North America, told CoinDesk that the company strives to offer products and services to its more than 1,000 channels that allow them to differentiate themselves to their merchant base.

She explained:

“The goal for this partnership is to be the first payment gateway offering digital currency acceptance in the traditional SMB [small to medium-sized business] marketplace and mobile space.”

The company’s reseller base won’t have to risk market volatility under the scheme – GoCoin will allow merchants to either keep the coins or trade them for fiat currency at the current market rate.

Steve Beauregard, founder and CEO of GoCoin, said: “Our partnership will enable Apriva’s resellers and ISVs [independent software vendors] to provide their merchants the most comprehensive selection of payment options offered today.”

Implementing digital currencies

Apriva plans to roll out digital currency acceptance in all its products, Tappin said. This includes its mobile app, AprivaPay Plus; traditional terminals including mobile wireless, dial and IP; Apriva’s Integrated Services offerings (incorporated in its APIs); and in its ‘unattended’ solutions for vending machines and kiosks, among other things.

Tappin said:

“We are continually looking to expand our gateway and acceptance capabilities. Digital currency will be another form of payment acceptance we can provide our resellers and their respective merchants.”

Apriva currently supports credit and debit cards, Electronic Benefit Transfer, loyalty schemes, checks and closed-loop payments.

Apriva CEO Chris Spinella said that digital currencies are driving change within the payments industry and indicated that the deal was motivated in part by increasing consumer interest in the technology.

“Our customers rely on us to be at the forefront of innovation,” he said.

Wider bitcoin merchant adoption

Tappin told CoinDesk that GoCoin is an ideal partner for Apriva because it offers multiple currency acceptance – not just bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, but also emerging altcoins.

GoCoin is also currently endeavoring to meet the needs of consumers and merchant clients by making bill payment with digital currencies more accessible to the mainstream.

For example, earlier this month it released an email and text message billing system by which merchants can request payments from their customers.

Payments technology image via Shutterstock