PayPal announced that it has entered agreements with Coinbase, BitPay and GoCoin, leading companies in processing payments made in Bitcoin, as the company looks to further help merchants in accepting Bitcoin payments.
The agreements will allow digital goods merchants under PayPal to accept Bitcoin payments through a simple integration using the PayPal Payments Hub, which will be first made available to merchants from North America.
PayPal made the announcements through a post made on the company's website by Scott Ellison, PayPal's senior director of corporate strategy.
PayPal earlier announced that companies working with Braintree will be able to accept Bitcoin payments soon through the v.zero software development kit and the ongoing relationship with Coinbase.
Now, PayPal is taking Bitcoin acceptance a step further with the agreements entered into with Coinbase, Bitpay and GoCoin.
"We chose to work with BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin because of our commitment to offering innovative and safer ways for businesses to accept payments. All three companies have taken steps to ensure that they know their customers and that those customers are offered certain protections," Ellison wrote.
Ellison, however, clarifies that Bitcoin has not been added as a currency in the digital wallets of its users, or that payments made in Bitcoin will be accepted and processed on PayPal's platform for secure payments.
While PayPal has never been shy from innovation, Ellison said that the company is proceeding gradually with integrating Bitcoin payments into its system to ensure the continued safety and reliability that is being enjoyed by PayPal customers.
Consumers using Bitcoin can do so like other forms of currency; however, Bitcoin is not currently subject to transaction fees or regulations that are present in other currencies. As regulations for Bitcoin are still under development, most of the large online retailers have shown reluctance in accepting the digital currency as a form of payment.
PayPal will continue to follow all regulations for the markets where the company operates, with Bitcoin as no exception. As such, the company is requiring exchangers and administrators working with virtual currency that are interested in a partnership with PayPal to first secure licenses for operation, as well as to implement anti-money laundering procedures.
Anti-money laundering procedures for Bitcoin payments have become more significant after Charlie Shrem, the former Bitcoin Foundation vice chairman, and Robert Faiella, a Bitcoin seller, have pleaded guilty to accusations linked to drug deals made on the Silk Road website.
Shrem and Faiella have been charged with money laundering after unlawfully exchanging Bitcoins amounting to more than $1 million with Silk Road clients who they knew would use the money to buy drugs.
