Bitcoin trading platform Quoine Pte. Ltd. has signed a new deal with Econtext Asia Ltd. that will see Bitcoin being available as an option for payments at 20,000 Japanese retailers for the first time.

The arrangement provides Bitcoin payments through Econtext’s existing merchant network throughout Japan, and although initially Bitcoin payments will only be available through each retailer’s website, it’s envisaged that eventually Bitcoin will be able to be paid at bricks and mortar store fronts.

The merchant’s checkout system is said to work along with Quoine’s exchange interface, allowing Econtext to provide a Bitcoin payment option, as well as supplying an up-to-date Bitcoin price that the merchant can use to quote to the customer.

To stop minute-to-minute volatility on the exchange rate, the Bitcoin rate quoted is locked on for both the retailer and consumer for 30 minutes, allowing a consumer to know what they are paying even if they don’t immediately purchase the item, say if they were looking at other items to purchase from the same retailer.

According to reports, Econtext has already signed up a couple of merchants to accept Bitcoin and is actively approaching others; the Bitcoin payment option is just that, an available option for retailers versus one that becomes available immediately as a default payment option.

Baby steps in Japan

While Bitcoin has had a bad rap in Japan following the collapse of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange last year, the deal is a positive one moving forward for the cryptocurreny in the country; perhaps baby steps today, but babies grow eventually into fully grown human beings.

It’s an interesting deal for Singapore based Quoine who has been previously known for its Bitcoin trading platform, and hasn’t previously done retail or point-of-sale services before, be it by themselves or in this case in a partnership.

Quoine certainly isn’t the biggest Bitcoin exchange online, but according to the numbers they are growing strongly, and see Bitcoin trades of between 50-100 Bitcoins on an average day.

Founded in 2014, Quoine has raised one $2 million seed round to-date from undisclosed investors described only as hedge funds principals, major payment aggregators and top FX traders in Japan, and executives of financial institutions.

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