Alternet System Partners with BitPay To Create A Worldwide Payment Processing Business
Alternet systems announced a strategic agreement between its subsidiary Alternet Payment Solutions (APS) and BitPay to create a worldwide payment processing business.
BitPay is a leading provider of business solutions utilizing the bitcoin digital currency. Alternet describes itself as a firm that “invests in and partners with companies that are creating the Future of Money in the high growth, emerging technology fields of Mobile Payments, Digital Currency, and Mobile and Digital Security.”
The agreement is not exclusive, and provides for the integration of the BitPay service into APS’s current customer base. The BitPay relationship will give APS the ability to process business to business payments utilizing bitcoin. Alternet’s CEO, Henry Dabrowski states:
With Alternet’s experience in disruptive payment technologies and a network that spans many countries that contain leading mobile operators, financial service providers and banks; we believe APS will rapidly deploy BitPay’s solutions in these markets. This will also broaden our global service offering related to facilitating transactions beyond utilizing Ven. We now have a reliable and secure partner to fulfill transactions with Bitcoin. Together, we will enable customers the ability to fulfill digital currency transactions online and through mobile devices.
Ven, which first appeared as an app on Facebook in 2007, is a global currency that is traded in international financial markets. Its value is determined from a basket of currencies, commodities, and carbon futures. Bitcoin on the other hand is an open source, decentralized, peer to peer digital currency that appeals to businesses because of its low fees.
Dabrowski elaborated that the BitPay agreement will allow APS to “initiate our sales process with several potential clients in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.” Dabrowski expects that these opportunities will continue to grow globally and begin generating revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014.
BitPay itself has seen steady growth in processing volume. Stephanie Wargo, VP of Marketing for BitPay added, “Compared to last year, we’ve seen an increase in the number of transactions and merchants. We are currently doing $1 million daily in transactions.”