Here on Earth, services like Google Wallet give us an idea of how payments are progressing and where they're going. But what about in space? Have you ever considered how we'll pay for things if we were all to suddenly relocate to the moon? Probably not. Don't worry, though. You can probably just use PayPal.
The epayments service today announced the launch of a brand new initiative that aims to help make universal space payments a reality. Dubbed PayPal Galactic, the initiative is a collaboration with the SETI Institute and Space Tourism Society and others to identify and address the issues regarding transactions in space.
"As space tourism programs are opening space travel to 'the rest of us' this drives questions about the commercialization of space. We are launching PayPal Galactic, in conjunction with leaders in the scientific community, to increase public awareness of the important questions that need to be addressed," said David Marcus, PayPal's President.
"We may not answer these questions today or even this year, but one thing is clear, we won't be using cash in space. PayPal has already pushed payments into the Internet, onto phones and across terrestrial borders. We look forward to pushing payments from our world to the next, and beyond."
Speaking during a press conference today, PayPal said there would be many issues on the path to space payments including (but not limited to) sovereignty. currency, time zones, and customer service.
