Bithumb Launching A New Crypto- Payment Service To Target 8K Merchants

Bithumb is launching a new service as it seeks to make it easy for customers to make cryptocurrencies payments, in over 6,000 physical stores in South Korea.  The cryptocurrency exchange has teamed up with, Korea Pay, a digital payment service provider for the launch of the new service.

A pilot program of the new service should be out by June, ahead of a full launch before the end of the year.  With the new service, the exchange is planning to improve customer satisfaction when it comes to making payments in stores.

Barcodes are to be created in mobile apps, to allow customers make payments at cafes and restaurants using cryptocurrencies held at Bithumb.  The exchange is launching the service buoyed by the amount of success registered by such payment options in advanced virtual currency markets of the U.S Japan and Switzerland.

“We have taken a landmark step […] we will try hard to set up an environment in which cryptocurrencies are used extensively,” Bithumb in a statement.

Korea Pay is seen as a perfect fit for the new cryptocurrency payment service given that it currently supports over 200 franchise offline-based merchants, generating brokerage services worth $279 million annually.  The digital service provider is also the first domestic company to offer certificates and solutions through more than 400 local channels.

Bithumb has also partnered innovation Corp, which operates a travel site, with over 50,000 hotels and other accommodation facilities. With the partnership, customers visiting the site will be able to make payments using any cryptocurrencies in their Bithumb accounts. The exchange is also planning to launch crypto kiosks for handling cryptocurrencies payments in restaurants and cafes.

Bithumb is aggressively expanding its footprint in a bid to offer more customer-focused services. Early this month it partnered several manufacturers to provide crypto-accepting terminals at restaurants and cafes.

The exchange is also expanding its offline support in response to increasing visitor demand. It is currently in the process of expanding its customer service center in Seoul as it seeks to double its consultation centers from four to eight.  Bithumb offline customer service centers are currently located in Gangnam, Gwanghwumun, Busan and Busan Daejeon.

In addition, Bithumb is also exploring ways to expand its footprint overseas. It has already inked a strategic partnership with BitPay to facilitate cross-border payments between the two platforms using bitcoin.