Over the past year, bitcoin startups in the Philippines and Australia have begun to target day-to-day expenses and remittances; markets that are in desperate need of instantaneous, secure and cost-effective payment systems.
Startups including Australia-based Living Room of Satoshi and Manila-based Rebit.ph, also known as the parent company of Bills Ninja, have been trying to educate the global population to use bitcoin in day-to-day expenses, such as paying utility bills and settling bank payments.
Paying Bills with Ease
Earlier this year, Rebit.ph acquired bitcoin bills payment platform Bills Ninja, to allow its users to settle rental, tuition, and electricity and credit card bills abroad. The service has been used by Filipino expats working in countries including Canada, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Austrailia and Canada.
“Using Bitcoin, we've made it easier for Rebit users to send targeted remittances. A good number of remittances coming from overseas Filipino workers are intended for bills payments anyway. By enabling our users with this service, we've made it more convenient by eliminating that second step for them,” Rebit.ph CEO John Bailon told Bitcoin Magazine.
An official with Satoshi Citadel, the parent company and investor of Rebit.ph told Bitcoin Magazine
that the Philippines-to-Canada, -Hong Kong and -Singapore remittance markets are huge, and that there are hundreds of thousands of Filipino employees working in these countries to support their families in their homeland.
Quite often, these expat workers pay utility bills such as water and electricity and credit card bills directly from these countries, using the Rebit.ph platform or the Coins.ph platform, which is currently ranked among the top 300 most popular websites in the Philippines.
Coins.ph, a competitor of Rebit.ph has seen a huge success through its partnerships with local banks, remittance outlets and financial institutions. The platform enables users to pay utility bills and cash out bitcoin at any of its supported outlets, including thousands of ATMs from the nationwide Security Bank and remittance outlets from Lhuiller and Palawan Pawn Shop.
However, Bailon told Bitcoin Magazine
that its platform is different from services such as Coins.ph, because of its over-the-counter transactions for remittances and bills payments.
“Coins.ph allows people to load funds into and draw from their mobile money wallet, while Rebit is closer to the current user experience of an electronic over-the-counter transactions for remittances and bills payments,” Bailon explained.
Currently, many local residents and employees prefer to pay bills at local establishments and institutions. However, the Rebit.ph team says that the local residents are starting to recognize the advantages of bitcoin and bitcoin bills payment systems.
“There needs to be a paradigm shift in consumer behavior when it comes to electronic bills payments. Most Filipinos still pay their bills in-person at establishments even though they actually have access to more convenient methods. We're getting there, and when more and more people start to realize the convenience of electronic bills payments, Rebit is here to allow them to do it over the blockchain,” said Bailon.
Living Room of Satoshi
Living Room of Satoshi, Australia-based bills payment platform allows anyone to pay any Australian bill using bitcoin. The platform has been providing bitcoin bills payment service in all sectors, including shopping, entertainment, banking, Internet, electricity/gas, rent, tax, insurance and water.
The platform has been welcomed and used by Australian residents across the country. In a recent interview with Bitcoin Magazine,
Australian farm Buda Foods founder and CEO Mark Burgunder said:
“We currently have a great service available here called Living Room of Satoshi that allows us to make bill payments and electronic transfers to almost any bank account in Australia using bitcoins. We've been using this service on a number of occasions already with the largest purchases so far having been for chicken feed and for mobile electric fencing.”
Many bitcoin enthusiasts and startups in the Philippines and Australia believe that the key to mainstream success for bitcoin is to educate the general population about its advantages and encourage people to use bitcoin for day-to-day expenses.
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