Wag! Goes To The Dog(ecoin)s, Via BitPay

The pet services platform Wag! announced on Wednesday (June 16) that it has begun accepting cryptocurrency through BitPay, including — fittingly enough — Dogecoin.

Pet parents can use cryptocurrency to buy credits from Wag!, which can be used to pay for on-demand dog walks, overnight care, pet training, advice from vets and any other service the platform offers. The company said it will donate a portion of the proceeds from each crypto transaction to carbon-offsetting environmental projects. Wag! said the effort was driven by feedback from its customers and an overall push to seek new ways to innovate.

“In today’s world, that includes accepting many forms of payments, and we’re very excited to have integrated crypto into the Wag! platform to make it easier for people to pay however they please,” said Garrett Smallwood, CEO of Wag! “Plus, how could we not accept Dogecoin as a form of payment?”

Wag! will accept cryptocurrency supported by BitPay in exchange for credits, which can also be gifted to other Wag! users via email.

“As crypto increasingly becomes a preferred way to pay across the world, forward-thinking companies like Wag! are realizing how important it is to accept this form of payment,” said Sonny Singh, chief commercial officer of BitPay. “Crypto is a $2 trillion industry that’s all about creating an open financial system in the world, and Wag! will benefit greatly from enabling its users to participate in the future of payments through a consumer-driven initiative.”

For now, it seems as though Wag! is barking up the right tree. As PYMNTS’ recent research discovered, almost a quarter of current or former cryptocurrency owners have used it to buy groceries or retail products, as well as for online gaming, streaming and financial services.

Overall, 16 percent of the American public — roughly 30 million people — own cryptocurrency, with another 24 million planning to acquire some. Meanwhile, 45 million consumers, or 18 percent of the population, say they’ve used bitcoin and other currencies to make purchases.