Opera Browser Adds Apple Pay, Debit Card Cryptocurrency Purchase Options

The Opera browser app has partnered with e-payments startup Wyre to expand its built-in wallet’s crypto buying power, the Norwegian web developer announced Tuesday.

In a deal that primarily caters to mobile crypto buyers in the U.S., the Opera-Wyre partnership brings Apple Pay functionality to iOS and debit card integration to Android. It lets users of either system purchase up to $250 in bitcoin or ether daily, for a 30 cent fee plus a 2.9 percent transaction commission, Opera’s Head of Crypto Charles Hamel told CoinDesk.

That’s not a very high ceiling, Hame said, but it’s meant to appeal to dapp developers and day-to-day users, not investors and speculators looking to move well over $250 in crypto a day.

“As our browser-based wallet is focused around the usage of cryptocurrencies on the web and using dApps, we expect the vast majority of transactions will not hit that limit,” he said.

It’s part of Opera’s larger, long-term mission: become the go-to browser for Web 3.0. The browser has already taken strides towards that goal, adding TRON support, an Ethereum dapp-compatible desktop version, crypto mining protective layers and a wealth of other built-in blockchain features that other leading browsers only offer through third-party extensions.

Opera already supported bitcoin payments through its native wallet.

On-the-go fiat on-ramps make it yet more simple for Opera’s dapp-using community to interact with blockchain projects, Hamel said. He touted its 30 second transaction settlement time, as Wyre has custody over all the crypto assets sold. 

Opera had previously rolled out these features in its native Scandinavia. It plans to introduce more crypto payment options in other countries “soon,” according to the press release.