AFP\/Getty Images EBay CEO John Donahoe has long expressed interest in Bitcoin <\/p>\n
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- EBay is taking a bet that digital currencies like bitcoin lead a new wave of payments in the future. And its doing this just ahead of the launch of Apples new, potentially eBay-rivaling, payments service. <\/p>\n
The San Jose, Calif.-based company on Tuesday announced agreements with leading bitcoin payment processors BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin to enable PayPal merchants to accept the currency. <\/p>\n
eBay EBAY, +0.36% will gradually widen its support of bitcoin, said Scott Ellison, PayPals senior director of corporate strategy, at first rolling out the capability only to merchants in North America. <\/p>\n
The announcement comes at a critical point for PayPals merchants business as mobile payments continue to evolve. <\/p>\n
Apple Pay, Apples AAPL, -0.87% new one-touch payment service, is set to spring to life next month in some 220,000 stores across the country. <\/p>\n
While its unclear whether bitcoin will play a part in Apple Pay, Apple did lift its ban on bitcoin apps earlier this year, and it will eventually open up Apple Pay to developers, potentially enabling third-party interaction between bitcoin and Apple Pay. <\/p>\n
I think PayPal recognizes they are at risk on a number of fronts and is becoming far more aggressive about meeting a wider variety of customer needs as a result than they otherwise would be, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. <\/p>\n
Analysts have been bullish on Apple Pay so far, particularly how debit and credit card transactions conducted through the platform will enhance Apples bottom line and transform the mobile-payments market. <\/p>\n
EBays shares fell as much as 2.5% to an intraday low on Sept. 9, the day Apple Pay was announced at a lavish event in Cupertino. On Tuesday, they closed up 0.51% to $52.74 after spiking as much as 1.5% earlier in the day. <\/p>\n
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Apple nudges PayPal deeper into bitcoin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AFP\/Getty Images EBay CEO John Donahoe has long expressed interest in Bitcoin SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- EBay is taking a bet that digital currencies like bitcoin lead a new wave of payments in the future. Continue reading