The PayPal subsidiary, Braintree has introduced Bitcoin payments via Coinbase for US merchants. Braintree is a platform for software payments and in this instance, incorporates Coinbase directly inside the SDK (Software Development Kit) allowing Braintree merchants to ‘switch on’ Bitcoin payment processing.
Braintree hasn’t published the number of US merchants utilising the Braintree SDK, released in July; however the company blog indicated ‘widespread adoption’ which will bode well for Coinbase. An account at Coinbase completes the processing cycle for a customer processing Bitcoin payments through Braintree for a US merchant.
According to the recent quarterly financial report, PayPal stated that during Q3 of 2014, the Braintree platform saw registered 85.7 million cards on file working in conjunction with the one-click or repeat purchase option. In announcing the integration, the Braintree blog went further by stating that ‘Bitcoin is growing in popularity for consumers and merchants alike; the number of companies both small and large working to enable bitcoin acceptance is on the rise’
Coinbase has stated that integration between them and Braintree needed longer than first expected in creating a user/merchant transaction that was a ‘seamless’ experience. A Coinbase spokesperson added that ‘We believe the extra time spent perfecting this experience will make merchants and consumers alike – happy.’
Chief Executive of Braintree – Bill Ready, is widely known for an optimistic view of Bitcoin and it’s future role as an established payments method, working to take Bitcoin – to the mainstream. With well-known brands such as Airbnb, OpenTable and Uber amongst Braintree clients, the platform permits merchants to accept payments from both credit and debit cards, as well as PayPal, Apple Pay and not forgetting the in-house mobile payments wallet known as Venmo.
