The Minnesota-based electronic payment processor Digital River has announced it will be accepting Bitcoin.
Bitcoin will now be available along with other payment options, such as credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, and bank transfers.
Souheil Badran, Vice President and General Manager of the company said it would seek ways to pass on the savings it makes from lower-cost bitcoin transactions to its business customers. He also said that he believes Bitcoin is here to stay and not a passing fad:
We don’t see it as just a fad going away. We see it as something that is here to stay, even if people are seeing it as just a payment method in general,” he said. “But for me it is a game-changer
Bitcoin is just “at the base,” he said. “We are just starting to leverage what mechanisms it can offer to our industry. Do we go from here to look at ledgers and other things we can do with the infrastructure that bitcoin has created?”
He also added, “We are always going to be cautious in view of the historical reputation of bitcoin, with Silk Road and other episodes,” he said, referring to the illicit drug trading site from which federal agents seized a giant stash of bitcoins during a bust last year. “We have to be careful because of the nature of dealing with banks, compliance and risk. It’s our responsibility to do that.”
About Digital River, Inc.
Digital River founded in 1994, Digital River is a public company that provides internet commerce services. Digital River is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. In 2013, the company processed a total of $30 billion in transactions on behalf of thousands of customers in 200 countries and territories.
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