We are now in the digital age. Progress in technology have changed how we do things around. It has brought about convenience and made practically everything much easier to do, from shopping to watching entertainment television and news. The digital age has provided means for people to do things in a more convenient, faster, and more systemic way.
This includes transactions for various products and services in the form of digital payment systems. It was initially introduced in the 1970’s and was quickly adopted by various banks, merchants, stores and companies in the US and eventually worldwide. Credit cards allowed for transacting without having to use physical forms of currency, and each transaction is monitored and accounted for by a central governing entity.
Eventually, the idea of using digital currencies and transactions has slowly become popular as companies start to utilize the internet for their marketing and services. It was in 2017 when a cryptocurrency became widely popular across the globe. When Bitcoin’s value skyrocketed to almost $20,000 and businesses have started using Bitcoin in their system, many companies have taken notice on the potential of cryptocurrency in business. People have started to study how and where to buy Bitcoin as a form of investment.
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital cryptocurrency which makes use of blockchain technology to keep track, monitor, and secure all transactions surrounding it. The technology Bitcoin introduced has provided tremendous potential on how businesses can improve their digital system and keep up with the fast progress of technology. Many businesses have now started using the idea of cryptocurrency and using blockchain in their business model, taking advantage of the benefits the technology can provide.
Here are some of top global enterprises looking to produce and issue their own form of digital currency:
The behemoth online company has grown exponentially in the past couple of years. Starting off as just a simple social media site, it eventually expanded its reach to cater to various businesses and have offered ways for companies to utilize the network for marketing and advertisement purposes. With the break of Bitcoin in 2017, Facebook have started developing their own cryptocurrency, called Libra, that can be used by billions of users worldwide.
Libra is a form of digital currency developed by Facebook and Libra association. It has been predicted that once Facebook releases Libra, revenues can increase to as much as $19 billion annually. Libra is aimed to be used as a form of assistance to billions of users without access to bank or does not have a bank accounts. Both Facebook and Libra hopes that this project can help users transact and avail of their needs without having to rely on a bank.
AirAsia
Popularly known as a budget-friendly airline from the Southeast Asia, AirAsia has expressed interest in using digital currencies as a form of reward system for flyers that they can use to book flights. The project aims to merger their currently Loyalty rewards program and put up a digital payment platform to provide customers a more convenient way of booking flights.
The ultimate goal of the project is to be provide people means to pay for seat upgrades, purchase in0flight meals and other services in a cashless means, without having to rely on credit cards. This will certainly help extend the availability of affordable flight options to a bigger market.
Amazon
Amazon is arguable the biggest online retail company around, catering to different countries worldwide. Currently, the only way for people to purchase items from Amazon is through the use of a credit or debit card, or through PayPal. With the idea of blockchain and cryptocurrency becoming more popular, reports of Amazon developing its own real cryptocurrency for transactions made in their site.
Currently, Amazon has a gift system called Amazon Coin which shares the same properties of a digital currency, but is now widely used as means to purchase items. There is also no technology behind Amazon coin to monitor and manage transaction involving the gift points. With the release of a real cryptocurrency, Amazon aims to make transactions made through its site to be handled, managed, monitored, and secured more efficiently.
Rakuten
Also known as the “Japanese Amazon”, the Asian tech giant have also expressed interest on incorporating cryptocurrency onto their system. In 2018, the company has already announced its own digital currency, called Rakuten Coin, which users can use to avail of different services such as:
- Service subscriptions
- Online purchases
- Banking and credit card payments
Rakuten aims to make the interaction and relationship between merchants and customers that use their platform to grown and become stronger, and hopes that Rakuten Coin can help them in achieving this goal.
Walmart
One of the biggest chain stores around, Walmart has recently applied patent for their own form of cryptocurrency. Walmart aims to release and issue their own form of digital currency to help not just the customers in purchasing items within their retail stores, but also to employees as well. If implemented correctly, Walmart hopes that their cryptocurrency can help improve the speed as to how the transactions are processed, making shopping and availing of services within the retail store much more efficient.
Walmart also positions the use of cryptocurrency as means to extend assistance to users and customers with limited access to banks or credit cards, making it more convenient to more people to buy items or avail of services from them or partner merchants. In addition, the company also plans to integrate AI into the entire cryptocurrency system to help people during shopping, giving suggestions based on their budget and purchase history.
JPMorgan Chase
Known worldwide as one of the biggest investment banking and financial company, JPMorgan Chase has started creating their own digital currency for their partners and customers. The blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency will help make transactions between their clients, banks, and customers, to be more secure and be regulated much more efficiently. It also plans to use cryptocurrency for international payments, especially those involving large corporate clients.
