According to the sources from Coinjar, it is going to give a try to Australia’s first Bitcoin EFTPOS i.e. electronic funds transfer at point of sale. The Melbourne-based Bitcoin exchange is hoping to nudge the digital currency into the mainstream next month with the latest trial. Nonetheless, with the offer of the first EFTPOS card in Australia linked to a Bitcoin account it has carved a niche.
In his statement to media Coinjar co-founder Asher Tan said that many of the customers of the exchange had bought Bitcoin as an investment and there was a growing number of companies that accepted it. However, according to him they were keen to use it for everyday transactions. He further said that many people who have bought Bitcoin ask ‘where do they spend it?’
Company has More Than 30K Customers
According to Asher Tan this means anywhere that accepts EFTPOS accepts Bitcoin now. Now that the company has announced that it is going to have trial of the cards with about 100 people who already have Bitcoin accounts over the next couple of weeks, it will see the efficiency of the same. Any decision to bring it for public will depend upon the outcome.
There are more than 30,000 users registered with Coinjar and so far it has processed about $50 million for them. The amount makes its money by charging a 2 per cent transaction fee on exchanging Bitcoin into standard currency and vice versa. Now, users can open a CoinJar Bitcoin wallet, activate the card, and set it up to automatically top up with an amount of Australian dollars.
E-merchants to develop the card
CoinJar teamed up with prepaid payments solution provider e-merchants to develop the card. Also, the company says that the entire process effectively enables users to use their Coinjar wallet funds in any store that accepts EFTPOS wherein customers can also manually top up their CoinJar Swipe if they prefer that to automation.
Though according to Tan one of the biggest criticisms of Bitcoin is that it is not widely accepted, his company has created Swipe because it simply wanted to make it easier for customers to spend their Bitcoin. He says that his company has been working on this for a while as well as on ways where its users can get better coverage around Australia and this is a long-time coming.
To contact the reporter of this story: Deepak Tiwari at deepak@forexminute.com
