One of the most technology innovator countries in the world, Japan, is prepared to start using Bitcoin as a method to pay for utility bills. Bitcoin is a form of a digital currency which is issued and managed peer-to-peer, without any central authority, being produced by computers that solve mathematical problems. The use of bitcoins has experienced a huge growth in the last years with many online vendors accepting it as a form of payment.
Japan reached an agreement with Coincheck Denki, a service that facilitates utility bill payments via bitcoins in certain regions of the country. This is not a new feature as Germany was the first country to use it, however, it’s another step for the future of e-payments and e-currency. The service will roll out in different phases and only in three locations, Kansai, Kanto and Chubu, where the major population centers, including Tokyo and Osaka. This plan is in partnership with Marubeni Power Retail Corporation, which operates power plants in more than 15 locations in central Japan.
There are two different plans for the users: light users, which will be allowed to earn bitcoins from saved amounts and heavy users which are entitled to discounts from 4% to 6% of the energy bill if bitcoin is being used as a payment method. The company is targeting one million customers within the first year followed by projects to extend to other regions in Japan. In addition, there are plans for other utilities such as gas, water and mobile phone bills to be paid using this service.
Although the project is still in the beginning phase it is encouraging to consider that other governments will follow it if it’s implemented with success. What do you say, would you be interested in paying bills online in Bitcoins?
Sources:
Hi Andrei, thank you for the post! I’ve been following bitcoin-related news for quite some time, but for some reason had missed this one. I think that it’s simply great that Coincheck Denki gives the possibility for people to pay utility bills by bitcoin and especially in a way that they will save 4-6% doing so. Every time the benefits of cryptocurrency, such as no credit card processing fees are factored in the price, and end-customers get actual savings I feel good inside. Coming back to your question, would I be interested in paying my bills online in bitcoins, I would have to say yes if there’s clear cost savings to be made. And definitely yes, if I was still mining bitcoins and could pay the electricity bill this way.
Dear Andrei, thank you for your blog! While I am not using bitcoins myself (yet), I think your blog shows that the future of e-payment and e-currency is closer than we might think. Japan shows to be very forward-thinking by introducing the option to pay utility bills with bitcoins. I think it is indeed very smart of them to start implementing it now, so they can learn from it / experiment with it, and be ready when e-currency indeed becomes the norm.