Wagepoint Bitcoin is gaining traction as a mainstream currency, and as more merchants sign up to accept bitcoin, it is inevitable that this virtual currency will find its way into compensation.

Canadian HR Tech startup, Wagepoint will be launching a bitcoin integration on November 25 that will help employees of small and medium sized businesses in Canada get a portion of their net pay in bitcoin. This integration with Wagepoint’s online payroll software, Pay has been made possible through a partnership with the first and largest Canadian bitcoin exchange, VirtEx.

Wagepoint is a progressive HR company always looking to innovate its offerings so they can continue to give customers and their employees the very best in online payroll. At present, companies / employees have the opportunity to directly deposit payroll into bank accounts with established financial institutions. But now for the very first time, SMB’s in Canada can give their employees a brand new alternative i.e. bitcoin wallets.

“Bitcoin is gaining traction as a mainstream currency, and as more merchants sign up to accept bitcoin, it is inevitable that this virtual currency will find its way into compensation. So, we built an option in our payroll software for employees to convert a portion of their net pay into bitcoin. It is an idea founded on our progressive views to help address the changing needs of the digitally savvy workforce”, says Shrad Rao, CEO of Wagepoint.

While adoption rates in Canada might be slow at first, Wagepoint anticipates much larger demand in the US once Wagepoint Pay becomes available in that market. The US beta launch is currently slated for January 2014 and users who are interested in being notified can sign up here.

Wagepoint will not charge users for the bitcoin feature as it functions similar to a direct deposit within the app. Businesses can sign up to Wagepoint’s Pro plan for a simple pricing of ($20 base fee + $2 per employee) per payroll, and it includes direct deposits, government remittances and year-end T4's.

Once an employee elects to get a portion of their net pay in bitcoin, they can login to the employee self-serve and indicate the amount they want to convert via the 'Bank Info' tab in the app. When the bitcoin wallet is verified, Wagepoint Pay will automatically exchange the said amount for bitcoin through the VirtEx exchange at the current market rate - as specified by the VirtEx orderbook. To process this transaction, VirtEx will charge employees of Wagepoint's customers an exclusive 1% exchange fee. Once the exchange is completed, the bitcoins are directly deposited into the employee’s bitcoin wallet.