Rakuten, Japan's largest online retailer, will now let customers choose Bitcoin as an option when paying, the company said in a statement today.
Rakuten will use Bitnet's payment processing platform in a number of its marketplaces, starting in the US and then Germany and Austria.
The Japanese e-commerce giant ships merchandise worldwide, including to South Africa. Rakuten bought messaging service Viber early last year for $900 million.
Some of the reasons the company stated for offering Bitcoin payments include offering consumers enhanced security, privacy and convenience, while giving merchants instant global reach with no cross-border fees, no price volatility, and no fraud, risk or chargebacks.
"Rakuten's mission is to empower the world through the Internet," says Yaz Iida, president of Rakuten USA. "This is one of the reasons we invested in Bitnet last year and we look forward to working with them on our US marketplace."
John McDonnell, Bitnet co-founder and CEO, said: "Rakuten's global marketplaces are great examples of how digital currencies can impact global commerce."
According to TechCrunch, Bitnet, a start-up, was founded by ex-Visa execs and is rivalled by Coinbase and Bitpay. It will initially be integrated into Rakuten's US marketplace to allow customers to pay in Bitcoins.
Last year, National Treasury, the South African Reserve Bank, the Financial Services Board, the South African Revenue Service and the Financial Intelligence Centre all warned the currency is risky, susceptible to fraud, unregulated, and users have no comeback if they are burned. Authorities have also said regulations may be issued should the need arise.
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