Coinbase, the largest U.S. exchange, is integrating Apple Pay into its fiat-to-crypto payments offering, according to developer documentation.
The product, Coinbase Onramp, provides a one-click buy that reduces the number of hoops people have to jump through to fund their self-custody wallets. As Coinbase said in a statement, using crypto often involves “a lot of friction, and as a result, users abandon ship.”
"It was rolled out right before Thanksgiving to a select group of clients first," a representative for Coinbase told The Block in a direct message.
“Onboarding to crypto can be a pain for your users: it can take a long time, require them to go through lengthy KYC (often requiring back and forth interactions), and use multiple apps to name just a few of the headaches,” the company said in its documentation.
Onramp, formerly known as Coinbase Pay, is essentially a software development kit (CDK) and series of APIs that enables coders to embed a fiat-to-crypto ramp into their mobile or web applications and browser extensions. The tool is widely used, including in popular wallets like Ethereum’s Metamask and Rainbow, Solana’s Phantom and the exchange’s own Coinbase Wallet.
The platform supports over 60 currencies and can connect with users' bank accounts, debit cards and Coinbase accounts. It provides a “lightweight” form of KYC screening for eligible purchases and free USDC transfers. ‘
Onramping onto Onramp is straightforward: Users enter their Coinbase credentials, undergo two-factor authentication and then give permission to the app to “take actions on their behalf.”
News that the exchange has integrated Apple Pay into Onramp was first revealed in an update to a Coinbase Developer Platform document in October. Approximately 60 million people in the U.S. use Apple Pay, according to Oberlo statistics.
Coinbase’s stock, COIN, is up over 4% at press time.
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