Samsung Pay Expands Crypto Payment Options Through Alchemy Pay Partnership

In a significant development for cryptocurrency payments, Samsung Pay has announced a partnership with Alchemy Pay, enabling over 500,000 Alchemy Pay users to utilize their virtual cards for online and in-store crypto transactions across 24 countries. This integration marks another step forward in making digital currency more accessible to retail consumers.

Seamless Integration for Users

According to the announcement made on October 7, Alchemy Pay users can easily link their virtual cards to Samsung Pay, allowing them to make payments with cryptocurrency at millions of merchants worldwide. This includes a broad range of regions such as Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. The Samsung Pay gateway processes billions of dollars in transactions annually, providing a robust platform for crypto payments.

This is Samsung Pay’s second notable foray into the crypto space, following its integration with Swipe in May 2020, which enabled the use of Visa Debit cards within Samsung Pay wallets.

Expanding Payment Options

Alchemy Pay has been actively enhancing its service offerings by integrating traditional payment methods. Earlier this year, it incorporated Google Pay into its virtual card service and has supported Apple Pay for fiat-to-crypto purchases since January 2023. The latest integration with Samsung Pay is designed to be user-friendly; cardholders simply need to verify that their virtual cards feature the Samsung Pay logo and follow straightforward steps in the Samsung Pay app to link their cards.

Once linked, these virtual cards can be used seamlessly at various online and in-store platforms, including popular sites like Amazon, Netflix, eBay, and even ChatGPT Plus.

Future Plans for Alchemy Pay

Looking ahead, Alchemy Pay aims to expand its reach by integrating additional digital payment platforms and ensuring compatibility with major card networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. This effort is part of a broader strategy to make crypto payments more mainstream and user-friendly.

Growing Interest in Crypto Payments

A recent survey by EY-Parthenon involving over 1,000 retail investors revealed a growing acceptance of crypto for payments, with 29% of respondents indicating they use digital assets for transactions. This represents a 6% increase from 2022. The most popular applications for crypto payments among retail investors include online shopping (57%) and sending money to family and friends (49%). Furthermore, 53% of respondents expressed interest in receiving part of their payroll in digital assets.

Notably, accredited investors show even greater enthusiasm for crypto payments, with 69% utilizing digital currencies for transactions from August 2023 to July 2024, compared to just 28% of non-accredited investors during the same period.

Conclusion

The partnership between Samsung Pay and Alchemy Pay signifies a promising advancement in the realm of cryptocurrency payments, making it easier for users to engage in transactions using digital assets. As consumer interest in crypto continues to grow, the integration of payment solutions like this could play a crucial role in fostering broader adoption and acceptance of digital currencies in everyday transactions.