Payments Provider BitPay Rolls Out Cryptocurrency Payroll Service

Nov 13, 2020 at 9:05 a.m. UTCUpdated Nov 13, 2020 at 3:17 p.m. UTC.Payments provider BitPay has launched a new service enabling businesses to pay employees, contractors, customers and vendors en masse with cryptocurrency.

Announced Friday, BitPay Send is a payout service with a focus on international and gig-economy companies looking to pay multiple recipients online simultaneously.

"Blockchain payment adoption is growing because it offers an easy way to send and receive payments on a global scale," said BitPay CEO Stephen Pair.With the new service, companies don't need to buy, own or manage cryptocurrency, while the recipients receive payment more efficiently and at a reduced cost, Pair added.

BitPay Send lets companies perform a variety of payment functions including payroll, customer cash-out requests, contractor payments, reward issuance and settlements with marketplace sellers.

Recipients need to have a BitPay ID and cryptocurrency wallet in order to receive payment and companies are charged a 1% fee.

With the launch, BitPay now provides an alternative to crypto payroll services such as BitWage.

BitPay launched in 2013 with a focus on enabling businesses to accept payment in bitcoin and has raised $72.5 million to date in investment, according to Crunchbase.