Helio Upgrades Solana Pay Plugin, Enabling Crypto Payments For Millions Of Shopify Merchants

Leading Web3 payments provider Helio has just launched a major update to the Solana Pay plugin for Shopify, allowing millions of new Shopify merchants around the world to accept payments in a wide range of cryptocurrencies.

The significant update was designed to onboard millions of merchants into the burgeoning crypto commerce sector. It was also helmed with the goal of setting the bar high for e-commerce payments through the integration of Web3 features.

In the first six months alone of the Helio Solana Pay plugin, the initial version already processed approximately $50 million in transactions for more than 200 stores, including Solana Mobile, Bryan Johnston, and Hivemapper, saving merchants over $1 million in fees. With the update, merchants can easily accept low-fee digital asset payments in their Shopify stores.

The upgraded plugin also allows for real-time conversions for settling payments in stablecoins, including USD Coin (USDC), Euro Coin (EURC), and Paypal USD (PYUSD).

A new on-ramp feature has also been added to the new Solana Pay plugin through the Helio dashboard, allowing customers to fund their wallets with crypto. They can use their preferred currencies.

For merchants who prefer to have their crypto earnings converted instantly to their bank accounts, there is also an auto-off ramp feature embedded in the updated plugin.

Users are sure to experience more efficient transactions through the new checkout upgrade as it includes deep links into major wallets such as Coinbase, OKX, Phantom, and Solflare. Solana's sub-1-second confirmation time empowers this feature further to provide customers with a seamless and quick checkout experience.

The updated plugin also empowers merchants to enable advanced Web3 features such as NFT airdrops upon purchase, a feature that works best for loyalty, receipts, or event tickets. For instance, discounts for NFT holders or Discord memberships with sales. NFT holders and wallet allowlists will have exclusive, gated store access designed to provide customers with a sense of community and exclusivity.

"Crypto holders represent a rapidly growing global consumer segment, with over 100M active wallets. Solana, with its low fees and fast transactions, is ideal for consumer payments. Shopify merchants can now easily reach this audience by installing Solana Pay in a few simple clicks to accept USDC and hundreds of other digital assets at low fees. Enabling the largest e-commerce platform to accept faster-than-card crypto payments is a significant step towards the mass adoption of crypto payments," Stijn Paumen, co-founder and CEO of Helio, told International Business Times in a statement.

Several brands have experienced the upgraded Solana Pay plugin firsthand, including Helium Mobile and FSL (STEPN GO, MOOAR) to enable their own $MOBILE and $GMT tokens respectively. Customers who earn tokens through product engagement can now make purchases on the brands' stores on Shopify, driving customer loyalty and improving the overall user experience.

Solana Mobile will also leverage the plugin's latest update to sell its much-awaited Chapter 2 product. "It makes perfect sense to allow users to pay for a blockchain product on-chain, and it aligns with our focus on the crypto community. In fact, more than half of the checkout sessions for the Chapter 2 product originated from mobile devices," said Steven Laver, the Mobile Engineering Lead at Solana Labs.

Solana Mobile has already saved over $1 million in card processing fees so far with Helio's Solana Pay plugin, Laver noted, adding that the savings can be reinvested back into the product development process.