Stripe Plans to Support Bitcoin Payments

Payments processor Stripe will enable its clients to accept bitcoins as a payment option.

Stripe, which provides payments technology for developers and e-commerce sites, is asking participants to sign up for a Bitcoin pilot. Stripe has previously required clients to integrate with third-party virtual currency processors to accept Bitcoin payments.

Stripe did not return a request for comment by deadline. Its website lists Tarsnap, an online backup service, as the first merchant to integrate Stripe's Bitcoin payment option.

Merchants who accept Bitcoin payments via Stripe will be paid in a local currency, with Stripe calculating the conversion. Payments arrive in the merchant's bank account in about a week.

Stripe founder Patrick Collison told Re/code that while Bitcoin may or may not be important in five years, it is necessary to support multiple payment instruments.

Bitcoin can facilitate international purchases where cards are not always used. Stripe has made international expansion a priority, with a focus on the U.K. and new markets.

Stripe has also not chosen a price for handling Bitcoin payments, Collison told Re/code. The company charges 2.9% plus $0.30 for each credit card transaction.