NFC TIMES Exclusive – As cryptocurrencies gain momentum online, some payments vendors and even a handful of national banks are making the first moves toward bringing those currencies into the world of brick-and-mortar retail with mobile payments, but it will likely be some time before those efforts gain a significant foothold in the market.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Etherium, Ripple, Dash and Litecoin have gained much exposure over the past several months, and several mainstream online merchants such as Overstock.com, Expedia, Shopify and Microsoft now accept Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, and others for certain kinds of online purchases, although take-up remains primarily in the early-adopter niche.
Stripe Pulls Back
In the midst of that growing interest, however, U.S.-based online payments processor Stripe announced last week that it would back away from its support for online Bitcoin payments, ending support entirely by April. A statement from the company’s product manager for payments and dashboards, Tom Karlo, cited longer transaction confirmation times for Bitcoin, juxtaposed against rapid changes in the cryptocurrency’s value, along with rising transaction fees.
