Alchemy Pay users can link their virtual cards to Samsung Pay, enabling crypto payments online and in-store, according to an October 7 report announcement.
More than 500,000 Alchemy Pay virtual card users can now use their crypto for retail payments in the 24 countries where Samsung Pay is available.
Regions supported by Samsung Pay include Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. Additionally, the announcement highlighted that the payment gateway is accepted by millions of merchants and processes billions of dollars annually.
This is Samsung Pay’s second high-profile crypto integration since entering the industry May 2020, when Swipe enabled using its Visa Debit cards with Samsung Pay wallets.
Meanwhile, Alchemy Pay is then expanding to more traditional payment methods included Google Pay introduced its virtual card service earlier this year. Additionally, the crypto payment processor has had Apple Pay support fiat-to-crypto purchases since January 2023.
According to the press release, the integration process is designed to be user-friendly as cardholders only need to verify that their virtual cards display the Samsung Pay logo and follow simple steps in the Samsung Pay app to link their cards.
Once added, the virtual card can be used seamlessly across millions of stores and digital platforms, including ChatGPT Plus, Apple Store, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, eBay and many others.
Looking ahead, Alchemy Pay plans to expand its reach by supporting additional digital payment platforms and ensuring compatibility with major card networks such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Crypto for payments
An EY Parthenon questionnaire with over 1,000 crypto retail investors, it found that 29% of respondents use crypto for payments. This is a jump of 6% compared to 2022.
For retail investors, the most popular uses for crypto payments are online shopping (57%) and paying family and friends (49%). Additionally, 53% of retail investors surveyed would consider getting paid through payroll with digital assets.
Notably, accredited investors are much more enthusiastic about crypto payments, with 69% using digital assets for payments between August 2023 and July 2024. Meanwhile, only 28% of non-accredited investors used crypto for payments during the same period.