PayPal isn't ready to dive head-first into the murky Bitcoin-infested waters just yet but they're curious enough to get their feet wet. The eBay-owned company has partnered with three of the leading Bitcoin payment processors to begin accepting payments for select online goods.
In a blog post on the matter, PayPal's senior director of corporate strategy, Scott Ellison, said PayPal is working with BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin to allow its merchants to accept the popular cryptocurrency as a method of payment for digital goods like ringtones (do people still buy those?), games and music.
The executive pointed out that PayPal has always embraced innovation in a safe and reliable way and their approach to Bitcoin is no different. It's why the company is proceeding slowly and choosing to wait and see how things develop.
Ellison said they chose to work with the aforementioned companies because of their commitment to offering innovative and safer ways for businesses to accept payments. Each of the three companies, he said, have taken steps to ensure they know their customers and that those customers are offered certain protections.
Although the agreement is now in effect, Ellison didn't mention which merchants would be the first to integrate Bitcoin payments in their checkout process. He did note, however, that it will be available to merchants in North America first.
PayPal is the latest in a growing list of companies that now support Bitcoin including Tiger Direct, Newegg, Expedia, Dish Network and Overstock, just to name a few.