Retail giants help Bitcoin gain users in Taiwan

     Convenience store chain FamilyMart has allowed customers in Taiwan to use bitcoin at its nearly 3,000 stores in the region after reaching an agreement with local wallet provider BitoEX in October.

     Since that news, FamilyMart has allowed customers to use bitcoin through their BitoEX wallets to buy vouchers that can be used in stores. The vouchers are distributed through terminals called FamiPort, a common payment gateway that can be used to pay for everything from parking fines to train and movie tickets.

     FamilyMart's public relations manager, Chen Jiaqi, told Taiwan news agency United Daily News that the move was intended to facilitate tourists from Taiwan as well as residents in the area.

More and more users

     According to BitoEX, FamilyMart has completed more than 500 transactions since the service officially started operating on October 24. The company also said it now has 40,000 online wallet users, and that number is growing at a rate of 30% per year.

     “We now have more and more Bitcoin wallet customers, but the market size in Taiwan is still small and is still growing,” said Rica Chiang, deputy manager of BitoEX.

     This is not the first time the startup has partnered with FamilyMart. Last October, it reached a Bitcoin purchase agreement with FamilyMart, allowing customers to purchase digital currencies directly over the counter.

     The startup said the success of its bitcoin purchase service has attracted the attention of the FamilyMart chain, which is considering accepting bitcoin for purchases. According to BitoEX, FamilyMart’s bitcoin purchases have more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

     Chiang said: "The family has seen an increase in bitcoin sales since last year. That's why they started to seriously consider accepting bitcoin to see if there is a larger market for it."

     In Taiwan, convenience store chains have been at the forefront of experimenting with e-commerce. For example, they were among the first retailers in Asia to serve as collection points for online purchases.

     FamilyMart is the second largest convenience store chain in Taiwan by number of stores, after 7-Eleven (which has twice as many stores). FamilyMart is headquartered in Tokyo, and Taiwan is one of six international markets it serves.

Gamers flock to Bitcoin

     Chiang said gamers are one of BitoEX’s key user bases, accounting for 40% of all users. They purchase games or make in-game payments on international platforms such as Steam, Big Fish and PokerStart.

     For some gamers who don't have access to credit cards or can easily find the convenience stores that are scattered throughout Taiwan, payment terminals will be an easier way for them to get the credit they need. In fact, game payments are often a topic of discussion on Taiwanese gaming forums.

     Gamers often show up at Taiwan's FamilyMart stores late at night as they rush to buy drinks and snacks before entering the next stage of a long gaming session. Sometimes they use over-the-counter transactions to get Bitcoin to keep them ahead of the game.

     “We noticed that there were a lot of transactions happening late at night, and we were curious about it,” Chiang revealed. “Then we found out that almost all of these transactions were from gamers. Sometimes they would say, ‘Please give me Bitcoin, I’m in a hurry and I’m still playing games!’”

     BitoEX says the next largest customer group is those using bitcoin for remittances, followed by investors and speculators.

     The startup uses mainland China-based bitcoin exchange OKCoin to control the price and flow of its bitcoin.