Crypto Payment Platforms Slowly Emerge, Lagging Behind Apple Pay's Intuitive User Experience

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Helio CEO Stijn Paumen discusses the challenges faced by cryptocurrency payment platforms in matching the user experience of traditional payment methods like Apple Pay. Paumen highlights the performance limitations of Bitcoin and Ethereum and emphasizes the emergence of second-generation blockchains like Solana as a potential solution. Helio's platform supports multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Solana, and USDC, and has facilitated $30 million in monthly payments, primarily within the Web3 space.

Cryptocurrency Payment Platforms: Emerging in the E-commerce Landscape, Yet Lagging Behind Apple Pay's User Experience

As the adoption of cryptocurrencies continues to gain momentum, their integration into mainstream payment platforms and retail environments is gradually expanding. However, the user experience and performance of these cryptocurrency payment platforms often fall short of established standards set by incumbents like Apple Pay.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Stijn Paumen, CEO of Helio, a growing crypto payments platform, shed light on the challenges facing the cryptocurrency payments sector. Paumen emphasized the need for cryptocurrency payment platforms to surpass the benchmark set by Apple Pay's seamless and swift payment processing.

Apple Pay as a Benchmark for User Experience

"I think the benchmark is Apple Pay," Paumen stated. "How are you going to beat Apple Pay, where I can just tap my phone and I've paid within three seconds?"

Despite advancements in blockchain technology, particularly with the emergence of newer networks like Solana, the performance and functionality of cryptocurrency payment platforms still fail to match the efficiency of traditional financial infrastructure.

Bridging the Gap with Second-Generation Blockchains

The introduction of second-generation blockchains like Solana has begun to address these limitations. However, as Paumen noted, these platforms face their own teething issues. "Now with the second generation of blockchains like Solana, even though there's a lot of talk about congestion, we actually have the engineering resources to figure it out," Paumen said.

Helio's Mission: Enhancing Crypto Payment Accessibility

Founded in March 2022 by Paumen and Jim Walker, Helio aims to address the shortcomings of crypto payments by providing a platform that enables merchants and e-commerce websites of all sizes to easily accept cryptocurrency payments. According to Paumen, Helio currently facilitates $30 million in monthly payments, primarily within the Web3 ecosystem. The platform supports a range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Solana, USD Coin, and Ethereum-based payments.

Notable Integrations and Ecosystem Building

Helio has made significant strides in the Solana ecosystem, facilitating the sale of approximately 80,000 Solana mobile phones through its payment plugin. The platform has also integrated with popular e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce.

Challenges in Mass Adoption

Despite these advancements, Paumen acknowledges the challenges in driving widespread adoption and mainstream integration. The need to assume crypto fluency among users remains a limiting factor. "If you have a phantom wallet and you know how to use it, you can pay on a Helio checkout with a single tap as fast as Apple Pay," Paumen explained. "But you need to assume that you're a crypto-fluent user, and that's a very small percentage."

Improving Onboarding and User Experience

To overcome these obstacles, Paumen believes that the onboarding process for crypto payments needs to be significantly improved. "We talk about this concept of crypto granny internally. What we mean is, when crypto granny buys a Bored Ape hoodie for her grandson, she needs to be able to do that without owning crypto, without even knowing what blockchain is," Paumen added.

Future Outlook and Potential Disruption

While acknowledging the potential for established payment providers like Apple Pay to leverage their own blockchains for payment settlement, Paumen remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of a decentralized approach. "I think it's just a really powerful technology," he stated. "We're still early. The fact that Visa is partnering with Solana is a great signal, though."

Beyond E-commerce: Exploring New Frontiers

While onboarding major e-commerce platforms is a key step towards mass adoption, Paumen sees promise in expanding the utility of crypto payments to streaming platforms like Vimeo and adult entertainment platforms like OnlyFans. These platforms, he believes, could potentially drive significant usage and growth for crypto payments.