This new platform gives cryptocurrency holders an in-store payment option

BI Intelligence

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Wearables provider Fit Pay and Cascade Fintech, a US prepaid card and peer-to-peer (P2P) payment services provider, are teaming up to develop a new platform that enables cryptocurrency holders to make in-store purchases.

The platform, which is expected to launch in 2018, enables users to transfer cryptocurrencies into widely accepted forms of payment, and then stores that value on devices capable of making contactless payments. These cryptocurrency holders can then make transactions with the funds on their accounts at millions of retail locations worldwide with NFC-enabled POS terminals.

High consumer interest coupled with the stabilization of cryptocurrencies could turn this platform into a popular commerce tool in the near future. Cryptocurrencies made major headlines in 2017 as they saw massive gains in value — for example, Bitcoin reached highs of around $800 in 2016 and exploded to over $19,000 in 2017. This has garnered the interest of consumers, as millions of people have decided to buy these currencies as investment opportunities. However, once these currencies start to flatten out and consumers no longer fear missing out on large gains, many will likely try to find convenient ways to use these funds. 

It's important to note that cryptocurrencies still have a long way to go because even if consumer interest does rapidly increase, merchant acceptance is still low. Merchant acceptance of Bitcoin was at an all-time low in July, for example, according to report from JPMorgan covered by Bloomberg — out of the leading 500 internet sellers, just three accept Bitcoin, down from five last year. In anticipation of rising consumer interest, players in the payment space will likely begin integrating the payment option into their offerings, which could lead to significant increases in merchant acceptance.  

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