Q&A: This AIP Wants To Make It Easier For Merchants To Accept $Ape As A Payment Option

There is an Ape Improvement Proposal on the ballot this week that hopes build the payment gateway necessary for merchants to accept $Ape!

AIP-340 titled 'ApeCoin Payment Gateway,' is an ecosystem fund allocation proposal written by ApeCoin DAO Contributor 0xWebMoss.

“This proposal aims to launch the ApeCoin Crypto Payment Gateway allowing online stores to easily accept APE token as a preferred payment method,” 0xWebMoss wrote. “The ApeCoin Payment Gateway will include an API to connect with other platforms and integrate Shopify and Wordpress payment plugins for merchants and online stores.”

0xWebMoss went on to write that his ApeCoin payment gateway would make it easier for companies inside and outside the $Ape ecosystem to accept $Ape because the coin would have its own in-house software that builders can implement. Further, fees collected from the gateway would go back to the DAO via ThankApe and the ApeCoin Innovation Fund initiatives.

To build this $Ape payment gateway, 0xWebMoss asked the ApeCoin DAO to allocate $49,800 USD worth of $Ape to AIP-340.

To find out more about what an ApeCoin payment gateway is and how its different from other options on the market, the Bored Ape Gazette reached out to 0xWebMoss for an interview. Check it out below:

1. In a sentence or two what is your AIP all about?

“AIP 340 aims to launch the ApeCoin Crypto Payment Gateway allowing web2 and web3 online stores to easily accept APE as a preferred payment option. This is a low-cost white label solution that is feature rich, for example WordPress and Shopify plugins have already been developed and widely tested, these are included in the solution, as well as options to create HTML buttons for custom applications.”

2. What inspired you to write this AIP?

“The idea originates from the recent ThankApe competition: Digital Goods - Create Culture for the ApeCoin DAO. Competition entrants mentioned during the ThankApe twitter spaces that using Coinbase and Bitpay can be slow in regards to getting approved. A merchants location can also become a factor as well as support given. Most importantly, these companies are not 100% focused on ApeCoin, the DAO and community or our Ape family, a better option was welcomed.”

3. What is a payment gateway and how is different from Coinbase commerce?

Crypto Payment Gateways are not a new concept and for the most part, they work in a very similar fashion. The solution we are proposing will offer the same functionality and options as Coinbase and Bitpay, but most importantly allow us to cater specifically to our ApeCoin, MBA merchants and Ape family. To start we will integrate 6 crypto wallets for APE / BTC / ETH / BNB / USDC / USDT and we aim to onboard more ApeCoin friendly communities and theirs coins/tokens in the future.”

4. Why are you the right person to build this?

“I am a Software Engineer who is passionate about web3 and thrives on creating pixel-perfect software applications. My professional experience extends to full-stack development where I have worked on a fair share of web applications including web2 e-commerce store. I have experience in Project management, Testing and devops and have worked in the IT sector since 2010. I’m an active member of the ApeCoin DAO and community.

Dedicated Support Team / Services Along with the white label software solution provided, a dedicated team from Coinsclone will be allocated to the project to provide full support for the software solution. Blockchain Consultant x1 Project Coordinator x1 UI/UX Designers x2 Web Developers x2 Testing Engineer x1 Server Engineer x1.”

5. Do you have anything else you’d like to add or say about your AIP?

"Fee Structure: A flat fee of 1% will be charged for all ApeCoin transactions using the ApeCoin payment gateway. We aim to offer a competitive solution to increase adoption and use of the APE token. Competitors charge approx 2% on average. These fees are customizable and we have the option to further reduce costs for our ApeCoin merchants, create more incentive and give back to the ApeCoin DAO. It was recently announced that it is possible to return value to the ApeCoin DAO and this could be a perfect example of doint just that. Long Term Goals Our first goal would be to cater to the Made by Apes stores and build on from there. We hope to break down the barriers between web2 store and offer our solution to a wider client base in future. Short Tem Targets Reach $100 000.00 transaction volume @ 1% = $1 000.00 per month. Month 4 Reach $200 000.00 transaction volume @ 1% = $2 000.00 per month. Months 5 to 8 Reach $400 000.00 transaction volume @ 1% = $4 000.00 per month. Months 9 to 12 Should anyone like to know more, please feel free to reach out to @WebMoss on X/Twitter for a tour of the solution and functionality on offer.”

Recently, 0xWebMoss created a Twitter thread where he further explained his proposal. You can check it out here:

The window to vote on AIP-340 is currently open and ApeCoin DAO contributors have until tomorrow, November 22nd, to cast their coins and vote on this AIP.

$Apes can read 0xWebMoss’ full proposal here: https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-340-apecoin-payment-gateway/18974

The Bored Ape Gazette will continue to follow AIP-340 and will let you know how the DAO votes tomorrow night. Stay tuned for updates!