Online marketplace provider Mirakl is now allowing its retail customers to offer Bitcoin as a payment option to consumers on their websites and e-commerce channels.
Mirakl works with some of the world’s most well-known retailers, including Darty, Galeries Lafayette and Woolworths. Mirakl helps retailers create their own marketplace, adding a platform where buyers and sellers can interact.
While co-founder Adrien Nussenbaum is not expecting an immediate rush of Bitcoin payments, he believes that Bitcoin will eventually become a significant currency.
“I don’t expect our customers to have huge turnover from Bitcoin payments initially, but we want them to be ready for when consumers do embrace it,” he said. “Although there is a perception of it being risky from a security perspective, Bitcoin is rich with potential and cannot be dismissed as a fad.”
Six in 10 UK adults have bought from an online marketplace over the last 12 months, and just 14 per cent said they had been put off buying something from an online retailer because an item was provided by a third party seller, according to Mirakl research earlier in 2014.
While the price of bitcoin has fallen rapidly in recent months, plenty of companies, including larger retailers like Dell and eBay, have now opted to work with the currency. For a global company like Mirakl, the crypto-currency was a natural next step.
“We want our customers, irrespective of their model or strategy, to anticipate market trends and not have to react to them,” said Nussenbaum. “Consumers are completely comfortable buying from online marketplaces and will one day want to do so using Bitcoin – our customers will be ready for that.”
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