Indomaret may be Indonesia’s largest convenience store chain, but it isn’t exactly known for its technological innovations (most still give you a plastic bag in which to take home your loose eggs very carefully). But its new partnership with Bitcoin.co.id has thrust it to the forefront of Indonesia’s cryptocurrency market.
As reported on Coinsetter, a Bitcoin news and exchange site, “Indonesians can now buy Bitcoin at over 10,000 Indomaret stores in the country, thanks to a major deal by the Indonesian Bitcoin exchange Bitcoin.co.id with Indomaret…”
Bitcoins, for those of you who aren’t nerdy enough to already know, is a software-based online payment system first introduced in 2009. Not linked to any one country or even a central computer network, Bitcoin is a completely decentralized, peer-to-peer based currency. Bitcoin’s architects say this gives their system greater security since hackers cannot access and alter a central repository of Bitcoin data. This has not prevented Bitcoin from facing controversy, from hacker attacks to wild fluctuations in value to accusations that the digital currency was widely being used to make purchases on black market websites.
But after some early growing pains, Bitcoin has stabilized and started to earn greater mainstream acceptance all over the world, mainly as an alternative to online payment systems like credit cards and Paypal which take higher percentages on transaction fees.
The Coinsetter article makes the point that there are nearly 200 million Indonesians without bank accounts and Bitcoin could be an attractive option to them, allowing them to bypass banks and other financial institutions (and their fees).
One potential stumbling block to Indomaret’s Bitcoin setup is that users would first need to create an account on Bitcoin.co.id, which would then give them a unique code they could use to deposit cash into their account at an Indomaret. Of course, it’s likely that most Indonesians who don’t have a bank account also have little to no access to the internet.
Still, it should be very interesting to see how Indomaret’s Bitcoin gamble pays off. The lack of credit card adoption among Indonesians is one of the chief reasons why online shopping has yet to take off in the country, so widespread Bitcoin adoption could be a solution to a big problem for both shoppers and retailers.
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