Buyers will be able to pay with the cryptocurrency for goods and services in all online outlets authorised by WebMoney Transfer system.

WebMoney has become the first global payment service to support bitcoin payments, while its closest analog PayPal does not hurry to integrate the cryptocurrency and even used to block accounts of some bitcoin-related companies.

Prior to be transferred to the seller’s account, bitcoins will be converted into WebMoney Transfer title units WMX, which can be further exchanged to other types of WM units or back to bitcoins. The sellers who run their internet shops on the Digiseller platform will be among the first to implement bitcoin payments, the company press release says.

WMX are credited to the merchant’s account after six confirmations of the bitcoin transaction with the exchange rate of 0.001 BTC/1 WMX. The seller decides upon the number of confirmations needed to dispatch the purchase.

The company informs that merchants will have to install X-wallets via Merchant WebMoney service to start accepting the cryptocurrency.

Earlier, regional payment providers in various countries introduced local bitcoin integration. In January, the major French payment gateway Lyra Network represented in seven countries and processing €5.5bln per year added support for bitcoin with the perspective to extend the service to other cryptocurrencies.

Last year, Indian payment processor ePaisa integrated the cryptocurrency enabling about 500 merchants in India to accept payments in bitcoin. The service is available at outlets in five Indian cities with particular focus on Mumbai and Delhi.

Lyudmila Brus