Still don’t think you can buy things with cryptocurrency?
A startup called Flexa has some of America’s biggest retail brands using its payment-processing network that’ll let you buy stuff with cryptocurrency.
Some of the brands on board are Barnes & Noble, Baskin Robbins, Bed Bath & Beyond, Caribou Coffee, Crate and Barrel, Jamba Juice, Lowe’s, Nordstrom, Office Depot, Petco, Regal Cinemas and Amazon’s Whole Foods Market.
Don’t feel bad if you are caught off-guard by this surprising revelation. Many have been counting out Bitcoin and other digital currencies for the past year as the prices tumbled along with the hype.
Flexa, is trying to encourage people to open their digital wallets.
“We allow any cryptocurrency to be spendable,” Chief Executive Tyler Spalding said. The company launched its payment-processing network Monday.
The big selling points so far are for retailers: a transaction fee between 1% and 2% which is much cheaper than credit cards. The intrinsic blockchain-based accounting system gets retailers their payments in ordinary money without ever having to touch cryptocurrency, which is a win-win situation for big corporations.
Cryptocurrency payments today could be like the early days of digital photography when people still printed their pictures, said Amy Zirkle, interim CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association trade group.”We could envision same evolution in digital currency,” she said, though likely not for five to 10 years. “That’s where all the R&D is happening and where the deeper examinations are taking place.”
Flexa seems to understand what both retailers and consumers want out of cryptocurrency and blockchain. Both parties want quick and effortless transactions. Consumers specifically want to be shielded from whatever potential burdens cryptocurrency comes with.
