Blockchain payments firm Circle has integrated with Apple’s iMessage, a move that allows users to send payments in dollars, euro, pound sterling and bitcoin through the popular texting platform. Circle executives said the launch marks the end of preparations that began in June, when Apple announced it would open up iMessage to third-party developers . "We decided to jump on it," Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in an interview. "We had been planning to build out a model for app-less payments using Circle that would work in all the places people communicate and interact." The confirmation came days after social media leaks and Asia-based media reports hinted that Circle would soon make an announcement. Allaire and fellow Circle co-founder Sean Neville indicated that making payments available on the "most used app in the world" would help it better navigate the larger transition to becoming a payment platform that not only leverages the bitcoin blockchain, but that could compete against more established payment apps. Allaire told CoinDesk: "This is going to be a big part of the future, it’s all tied into the how do we make money work, the way the Internet works. We talk about photos and content and the way we do that is through social messaging, that is the core medium of the Internet for a lot of people." As a result of the integration, Circle users who have installed the application will be able to access Circle from new icons built into iMessage. Users who don’t have Circle installed will also have the option to tap to receive money. According to Neville, the payments are instant on the Circle platform, but consumers could still wait days to receive the money in a bank account. "If you use the app today, if you hold dollars and […]
