Bitcoins were created in 2009 and, despite the promise of lower transaction fees, blockchain technology, and the decentralized nature, the cryptocurrency has taken a little while to enter the mainstream. This has changed considerably in the past year and today Bitcoin’s market capitalization (which refers to the total number of coins in circulation is in the region of $99 billion).
These Bitcoins are not squirreled away by monopoly investors. A report from ARK Invest suggests that in excess of 10 million people own Bitcoins. This is something that retailers offering online services need to be mindful of.
Earlier this month Digital Journal posted an article which posed the question: ‘Should a business accept a cryptocurrency as a means of payment?‘ The article showed there are advantages for online businesses and this appeal seems to be growing in number.
As a further sign of this developing online trend comes the news that the KinerjaPay Corp., which is a digital payment and eCommerce platform, has announced the expansion of its Gift Card Center. The change means that customers will be able to purchase popular gift cards by accepting the Bitcoin currency for transactions. This is provided that the transaction occurs via the proprietary KinerjaPay platform.
Commenting on the new service, Edwin Ng, who is the Chairman and CEO of KinerjaPay Corp. said in a statement: “We are now offering Bitcoin owners the opportunity to use the digital currency on our established eCommerce platform. For example, people in China, India, Europe, U.S. or anywhere can use their Bitcoin to buy an Amazon Gift Card from KinerjaPay.” The gift cards range in value from $10 to $100.
The fintech entrepreneur, who is based in Indonesia, added: “As an eCommerce platform, our Gift Card Center can serve as a digital voucher for many popular brands in international commerce and evidences KinerjaPay’s evolving and innovative means to meet the demand in the growing eCommerce market.”
KinerjaPay’s margin is between 5 percent and 8 percent per transaction, via its web portal or through its mobile app.
