Helio, the crypto payments platform, has launched a significant update to its Solana Pay plugin designed for Shopify. This plugin allows merchants on Shopify to seamlessly accept low-fee crypto payments in their stores.
According to a press release shared, the enhanced plugin now enables “millions of Shopify merchants worldwide to accept payments in hundreds of cryptocurrencies.” One of the key features of the update is real-time conversions, facilitating settlements in stablecoins such as USDC, EURC, PYUSD, and USDY. USDY specifically represents a tokenized note backed by short-term US Treasuries and bank demand deposits.
The Helio team expressed that the primary goal of this update is to onboard a large number of merchants into crypto commerce. They aim to establish a new standard for e-commerce payments by enhancing the payment experience, integrating customer loyalty programs, and incorporating Web3 features.
Stijn Paumen, CEO and co-founder of Helio, highlighted that merchants can easily integrate Solana Pay into their Shopify stores with just a few clicks. He emphasized that enabling the world’s largest e-commerce platform to accept faster crypto payments than traditional card transactions marks a significant stride towards widespread adoption of crypto payments.
Solana Mobile Chapter 2 Comes With the Plugin
Introducing Transaction Fee and New Benefits
Steven Laver, Mobile Engineering Lead at Solana Labs, emphasized the strategic advantage of allowing users to pay for blockchain products directly on-chain. He noted that over half of the checkout sessions for Chapter 2 originated from mobile devices.
Laver further highlighted the benefits of integrating Helio’s Solana Pay plugin for Shopify, stating, “We’re enabling product preorders denominated in USDC and have already saved over $1 million in card processing fees, which can now be reinvested into product development.”
Introducing Transaction Fee and New Benefits
The upgraded Solana Pay plugin introduces several significant features and benefits.
Initially, it implements a transaction fee set at 0.75%, described as competitive and essential for supporting ongoing innovation and operational costs.
Additionally, the plugin incorporates an on-ramp feature accessible through the Helio dashboard, enabling customers to fund their wallets with cryptocurrency using their preferred currency.
Furthermore, the plugin caters to merchants seeking to convert their crypto earnings instantly to their bank account through an auto-off ramp feature.
Moreover, it enhances the checkout experience with deep links to major wallets like Phantom, Solflare, OKX, and Coinbase.
In addition, Solana’s “sub-1-second confirmation time” enhances transaction efficiency and accelerates the checkout process.
Merchants can also activate advanced Web3 capabilities, such as NFT airdrops upon purchase, Discord memberships linked to sales, and discounts for NFT holders. These features aim to boost customer loyalty and serve dual purposes as receipts or event tickets, according to company statements.
Lastly, the upgrade introduces gated store access exclusively for NFT holders and wallet allowlists, creating a tailored and exclusive shopping environment.
The initial version of the plugin saw transactions totaling $50 million.
Helio’s Paumen emphasized that “crypto holders represent a rapidly expanding global consumer segment, with over 100 million active wallets.”
The latest plugin aims to help merchants capitalize on this market growth, empowering token holders to make purchases, according to the press release.
Meanwhile, Helio boasts more than 350,000 unique active wallets and serves 5,000 merchants, as highlighted in the press release.
In its first six months, the initial plugin version facilitated approximately $50 million in transactions across more than 200 stores, including Solana Mobile, Hivemapper, and Bryan Johnston.
Now, Helium Mobile and FSL (STEPN GO, MOOAR) are among the early adopters of the upgraded plugin version, enabling their tokens MOBILE and GMT, respectively.
Frank Mong, COO at Helium Mobile, remarked, “This allows anyone to use the MOBILE tokens they’ve earned, opening avenues to seamlessly purchase Hotspots and other items through Shopify.”
Additionally, the updated plugin aims to democratize the industry, making it more accessible for everyday users to integrate crypto into their daily lives.