The integration gives millions of businesses and consumers around the world easy access to Solana Pay, Solana’s peer-peer payment protocol.
Many Web3 enthusiasts long for the day where transacting with crypto is as easy as using Apple Pay. For millions of businesses and consumers around the world, that day has now come.
Solana Pay is an open-source peer-peer payment protocol built on the Solana network. It was launched in February 2022 with the aim of giving businesses a way to transact directly with customers without intermediaries.
The protocol is now set to skyrocket in use after integrating with e-commerce heavyweight Shopify.
Shopify is one of the biggest e-commerce platforms in the world, and it provides a robust transaction infrastructure for businesses to buy and sell goods online. The platform has facilitated over $444 billion in economic activity across 170 countries.
Shopify hosts some huge businesses, including Gymshark, Penguin Books, Red Bull, Whole Foods Market, Kylie Cosmetics, and many more. It even hosts the lucrative Hyatt Hotels Corp (NYSE: H), which has a market cap of $8.35 billion.
The differences between traditional payment methods like Apple Pay and a decentralised protocol like Solana Pay are monumental.
Read more: Solana Explained | A beginner’s guide
As a peer-peer protocol, Solana Pay has no intermediaries, eliminating bank fees, chargebacks and holding times. It also enables immediate, direct payment settlements of USD stablecoins compatible with Solana, according to Solana Labs.
The initial payment option for Solana Pay will be USDC – a stablecoin that’s pegged to the US dollar.
“Solana Pay on Shopify opens up millions of merchants to a more dynamic and efficient payment choice, while consumers get the convenience and increased utility of being able to pay for goods and services with digital dollar currencies from the vast network of merchants using Shopify”, said Josh Fried, Head of Commerce Business Development at the Solana Foundation.
Merchants and consumers who use Solana Pay can also gain access to Web3 based commerce experiences, such as NFT-based loyalty programs and token-gated offerings. Direct cross-border payments are another huge advantage.
Solana Pay is already in use for some Shopify-powered merchants including MadLads, Solana’s merch store, Helius and MonkeDAO.
Disclaimer: CryptoPlug does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do conduct your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
