Helio’s Solana Pay Plugin Gets Major Upgrade for Shopify Merchants, Opening Doors to Crypto Payments
In a groundbreaking move, the crypto payments platform Helio has unveiled a significant update to its Solana Pay plugin for Shopify. This plugin allows merchants on Shopify to seamlessly accept low-fee crypto payments in their online stores.
With this latest upgrade, millions of Shopify merchants worldwide now have the capability to receive payments in a wide variety of cryptocurrencies. The plugin offers real-time conversions, settling payments in stablecoins like USDC, EURC, PYUSD, and USDY – a tokenized note backed by US Treasuries and bank deposits.
The main goal behind this release is to onboard millions of merchants to the world of crypto commerce. By improving the payment experience, enhancing customer loyalty programs, and integrating Web3 features, this update aims to set a new standard for e-commerce payments.
Stijn Paumen, CEO and co-founder of Helio, emphasized the ease of installation for merchants, stating that with just a few clicks, they can start accepting faster-than-card crypto payments. This move is seen as a significant step towards the mass adoption of crypto payments.
Solana Mobile, in particular, will be leveraging the updated plugin to facilitate the sale of its Chapter 2 product, which is now available for preorder with shipping scheduled for next year. Steven Laver, Mobile Engineering Lead at Solana Labs, highlighted the benefits of allowing users to pay for blockchain products on-chain, especially with more than half of the checkout sessions coming from mobile devices.
The upgraded Solana Pay plugin comes with a transaction fee of 0.75% to support ongoing innovation and operational costs. It also includes an on-ramp feature via the Helio dashboard, enabling customers to fund their wallets with crypto using their preferred currency. Additionally, the plugin offers an auto-off ramp feature for merchants who prefer to convert their crypto earnings instantly to their bank account.
Furthermore, the plugin introduces a new checkout experience with deep links into major wallets like Phantom, Solflare, OKX, and Coinbase. Combined with Solana’s sub-1-second confirmation time, this ensures more efficient transactions and a faster checkout process. Merchants can also enable advanced Web3 features such as NFT airdrops, Discord memberships, and discounts for NFT holders to enhance customer loyalty.
Helio’s Paumen highlighted the growing global consumer segment of crypto holders and the potential market growth that merchants can capitalize on with this plugin. With over 350,000 active wallets and 5,000 merchants already on board, the upgrade is set to make the industry more accessible to everyday users, facilitating the use of crypto in daily transactions.
Overall, this upgraded plugin version is poised to revolutionize e-commerce payments, making it easier for merchants to accept crypto payments and for consumers to use their crypto holdings in practical ways.
