RewardsPay partners with Coinbase, enabling bitcoin payments for Facebook, Amazon gift cards

RewardsPay has partnered with Coinbase, allowing consumers to pay with Bitcoin while redeeming accumulated loyalty points with online merchants.

On its website, RewardsPay describes how approximately $50 billion worth of rewards are issued every year in the United States by credit cards, hotels, airlines and retailers. The company thus helps merchants tap into the "tremendous purchasing power" of these reward programs.

Consumers would select the RewardsPay option upon checkout, and combine the desired amount of bitcoin to be deducted from their wallet.

On selecting Coinbase, founder and CEO Anu Shukla commented:

"Coinbase is an ideal partner due to their bank-level encryption and high security payment processing. We are confident in their technology and also excited for the business that this will bring to our merchants."

Among the online merchants listed as participants are iTunes, where points can be redeemed for iTunes Codes, and Facebook and Amazon, whose gift cards can be purchased. Other merchants include heels.com, a popular site for women's shoes, and Overstock.com- which already accepts bitcoin.