Mesh Integrates with Apple Pay to Enhance Crypto Payments
In an exciting development for the cryptocurrency ecosystem, Mesh, a payment solutions provider, has officially announced its integration with Apple Pay, enabling merchants to seamlessly accept crypto payments through this popular platform. The unveiling occurred during a live presentation by Bam Azizi, the Co-Founder and CEO of Mesh, at the recent Token2049 conference, where attendees received a firsthand look at this innovative feature, set to launch in the latter half of Q2.
Benefits for Merchants and Customers
With this new integration, merchants partnered with Mesh will no longer need to develop their own cryptocurrency systems. Instead, customers can transact using well-known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL). Merchants will benefit from receiving payments settled in stablecoins like USDC, USDT, or PYUSD, all facilitated by Mesh’s unique SmartFunding technology. This significant move aims to address one of the primary barriers to wider cryptocurrency adoption – harmonizing consumer payment flexibility with reliable merchant transaction stability.
“Once consumers can transact with cryptocurrency as easily as they do with regular payments, there’s nothing preventing a substantial shift toward blockchain-based commerce,” asserted Azizi.
This novel integration utilizes Apple Pay’s NFC technology, allowing customers to finalize their transactions in both physical and digital stores with ease, utilizing features such as Face ID verification for rapid checkout.
Funding and Partnerships
This milestone follows Mesh’s successful $82 million Series B funding round, led by prominent investors such as Paradigm and supported by well-known brands including Consensys and Yolo Investments. Moreover, Mesh has established over 300 integrations with various platforms, including major exchanges and digital wallets like Coinbase, Binance, MetaMask, and Phantom, solidifying its role as a vital infrastructure provider within the crypto payments landscape.
Industry Trends
The integration of Apple Pay by Mesh marks a trend in the payments sector as companies increasingly venture into the realm of digital currencies. Notably, last week, Stripe announced plans to explore the creation of a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, aimed primarily at businesses operating outside the traditional financial hubs of the U.S., U.K., and Europe. This comes in the wake of Stripe’s authorization to take over Bridge, a network focused on stablecoin payments designed to compete with conventional banking operations and SWIFT transfers.
Furthermore, the emerging appeal of Bitcoin as a payment method continues to gain traction. Following calls from notable figures like Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter, for the integration of Bitcoin into peer-to-peer payment platforms, the dialogue surrounding Bitcoin’s utility beyond a mere store of value is gaining momentum. David Marcus, the former PayPal president, recently echoed this sentiment by suggesting that all applications that do not focus solely on transactions should connect to Bitcoin.
In tandem with these advancements, the Singapore-based payments company Triple-A has announced intentions to incorporate PayPal’s forthcoming stablecoin into its payments ecosystem, reflecting the broader industry movement towards integrating digital assets into mainstream payment solutions.
