Electronic payment giant PayPal has launched PayPal Galactic, an initiative to plan how commerce should work in space.
In partnership with the Space Tourism Society and the SETI Institute, the programme aims to address questions surrounding the commercialisation of space.
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Paypal intends to look at how banking institutions have to adapt, what regulations will need to be brought in and what will the standard currency look like in a cash-free interplanetary society.
PayPal claims a payment system is needed to allow astronauts inhabiting space stations to make payments back on Earth, as well as their entertainment while in space.
President of the Space Tourism Society John Spencer believes the earliest types of space hotels will be operational within the next five to ten years, so a form of space commerce will be required.
David Marcus, president of PayPal, said: "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."
"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," he concluded.
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