British financial services company Barclays Bank PLC is jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon with news that it will start facilitating Bitcoin payments.

According to The Sunday Times (paywall) Barclays has a announced that it will start supporting the use of Bitcoin for payments to charities as an alternative way for those non-profits to raise funds.

The report wasn’t entirely clear on exactly how the support for Bitcoin would be handled but noted that the bank had entered into partnership with a “Bitcoin exchange, or spending platform,” and aims to begin the experiment by the end of 2015; potentially this suggests that the partnered Bitcoin exchange would accept the Bitcoin payments then convert them to fiat currency for payment into a Barclays bank account.

A quote from Barclays’ Chief Design and Digital Officer Derek White simply states “Barclays is enabling the Bitcoin exchange to help charities accept bitcoin.”

The Daily Mail reported separately that Barclays has around 75 staff looking into Bitcoin and the Blockchain at offices in Notting Hill and Old Street, close to the City of London, and that the company also uses a refurbished warehouse in Whitechapel, East London, to host get-togethers between Bitcoin enthusiasts.

The company had previously revealed it is pursuing a proof of concept with European exchange and services provider Safello, and in March had accepted three Bitcoin firms into its FinTech accelerator program.

Bitcoin to the mainstream

Bitcoin may often be pitched as an alternative to existing fiat money based financial institutions, a distributed, non-centrally controlled cryptocurrency that rages against the machine, and yet the move by Barclays to start accepting Bitcoin payments, even in this small way, should be welcomed.

The Bitcoin Blockchain is already being explored and tested by financial institutions worldwide due to the strength it provides as a digital ledger and is rightfully predicted as having a bright future that may well even go as far as revolutionizing the financial business, but along the way Bitcoin hasn’t always been spoken about in similar, glowing terms.

While the details of Barclays’ foray into accepting Bitcoin for charity payments are yet to be revealed, whatever format it takes has got to help further bring Bitcoin to the mainstream when it not only comes to ease of access (it’s not hard now, but imagine walking into a bank branch to sort Bitcoin payments out), but exposure to the broader community as a valid, legal, and reasonable way to accept payments from others.

Barclays entering the space in actually accepting Bitcoin payments may also be the start of other banks and financial institutions doing so as well, and if that’s the case it’s even better for Bitcoin again.

Photo by antanacoins