Bitcoin payments need to become more prominent if the cryptocurrency is ever to reach mainstream status. Block Fi has recently developed a new mobile payments solution that could potentially make bitcoin payments a normal, everyday thing.
Block Fi Develops New Crypto Banking Service
One of the big problems surrounding bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is that many companies have been reluctant to accept them as means of payment. Thanks to their volatility and price swings, many enterprises and businesses have refused to place bitcoin along the same lines as credit cards or cash and are worried about potentially losing money following a transaction, and in many ways, we can’t really blame them.
If someone walks into a store and uses bitcoin to pay for $50 worth of merchandise, but then tomorrow the price of bitcoin goes down, the customer still walks away with everything they got while the store winds up losing profit. It’s not necessarily fair to the merchant, which is why BTC payments have failed to catch on.
At the same time, crypto is often considered more secure than credit cards or cash, and thus can serve customers well granted stores begin to accept them as legitimate means of payment for goods and services. So, what can be done so that both parties, the customer and the merchant, can walk away satisfied?
Crypto lending firm Block Fi believes it’s found the answer. The company has thus far raised more than $30 million from companies such as Purple Arch Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, Arrington XRP Capital and Morgan Creek Digital to build a new mobile banking service, equipped to the hilt with a rewards system, credit loans and many other tools that are likely to set it on the same plane as any standard financial institution.
One of the big claims to fame for the new venture is that it will link customers’ bank accounts to Block Fi lending programs. Flori Marquez – vice-president of operations for Block Fi – believes this will inspire a lot of “newbies” to try crypto out the way they would traditional financial services.
Getting New People On Board
She states:
How can we make it easy for people who have never invested in crypto to try it as an alternative? […] For most people, cryptocurrencies are something out of speculative fiction. Adoption of these assets is limited by the average consumer’s ability to understand how to use them. We have demonstrated that we can build financial products around cryptocurrency that can look and feel like the apps you already have on your phone, and we’re well-positioned to drive mainstream adoption.
She is confident that the new system will give users a sense of comfort in trying crypto for the first time. She also says that the company is not waiting for crypto regulatory tactics to become firmer.
