WebMoney, the global online settlement system, mostly popular in Russia, announced it is enabling payments in Bitcoin.

The option is available for non-members of WebMoney. Now they can pay in the most popular cryptocurrency for goods and services sold by merchants using the WebMoney service.

The Bitcoin payments will be received into the seller’s account in WMX – WebMoney’s transfer title units and aligns with the requirements for legitimate transactions using Bitcoin. WMX can be exchanged for other title units like WMZ, WMR or to bitcoins.

WebMoney’s announcement comes shortly after reports in Russian media quoted the country’s deputy-finance minister Alexei Moiseev. He said the government will not insist on a blanket ban of Bitcoin, as previously set forth in a bill drafted by the ministry and tabled for voting in the country’s parliament.

Meanwhile, in Moscow opened the first offline exchange desk for cryptocurrencies.

WebMoney was established in 1998 and originally targeted clients in Russia and the former Soviet Union countries. Now it has around 31 million users across the world. It enables real-time transfers of money in WebMoney units (WM-units). No bank account or credit card is required to open or operate a WebMoney account. More than 100 000 online shops and services accept WebMoney payments. The company also provides online financial services, P2P payment solutions, internet based trading platforms, merchant services and online billing systems.

The service is also a popular means for deposits and withdrawals among forex brokers. Among them are XM, FxPro, FXOpen, RoboForex, InstaForex, HotForex, LiteForex, etc.