In a significant step for Taiwan’s digital economy, stablecoin issuer Circle has strategically allied with Taiwan’s leading crypto service provider, BitoGroup, and Taiwan FamilyMart, the country’s second-largest convenience store chain.
Circle stated that the collaboration aims to broaden the utility of loyalty points, enhance their value, and ease entry into the digital economy for the Taiwanese market.
This partnership unveils an innovative ‘Points-to-Crypto’ service through the Taiwan FamilyMart App and the BitoPro Exchange. The service enables customers to transform their FamilyMart loyalty points, FamiPoints, into digital currencies like USDC. This conversion, which preserves loyalty point value and incurs zero transaction fees, democratizes crypto access.
This strategic move fits nicely into Circle’s broader strategy of pushing the boundaries of digital asset innovation.
As CryptoSlate reported last month, Circle has been making strides in integrating its Web 3 Services platform into high-profile apps like Grab, Southeast Asia’s super app for transport, deliveries, payments, and more. This integration, which will be piloted in Singapore, aims to enhance user experiences with blockchain-enabled solutions, underscoring Circle’s commitment to partner with global-scale consumer internet brands to bring everyday utility to users.
In regard to this latest development, Taiwan is known for its high density of convenience stores, where loyalty points hold substantial value in these establishments. According to the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) in Taiwan, ‘Points Accumulation and Redemption’ ranked the most practical among four primary retail app functions in their 2021 consumer behavior survey.
With a reported membership base nearing 800,000 and a market share of about 90% in Taiwan, BitoGroup, one of the lead partners in this initiative, hosts an array of services, including BitoPro (a crypto exchange), BELS (an NFT empowerment platform), and O2 META (a metaverse-focused social media platform).
Donghao Liu, Director of the Digital Finance Department of Taiwan FamilyMart, emphasized that the enhanced service solidifies Taiwan FamilyMart’s commitment to its members by continually offering diverse and convenient avenues for point utilization. Liu said,
“The enhanced service not only introduces a wider range of virtual currencies that FamiPoints can be exchanged for in just two simple steps, but also promises to positively impact the loyalty points economy in Taiwan.”
Since 2014, Taiwan FamilyMart and BitoGroup’s service has allowed customers to purchase Bitcoin at convenience store locations nationwide. This new partnership transitions from physical convenience stores to online experiences, supporting access to innovative financial tools and bolstering Taiwan’s position as a leader in the digital economy.
By building on previous strategic initiatives like the Grab integration, Circle’s latest partnership with BitoGroup and Taiwan FamilyMart shows a pattern of fostering alliances with significant consumer internet brands and financial institutions in the Asian markets.
Circle set out this agenda in June when it announced the intent to focus on collaborations geared towards transforming how consumers and institutions in the APAC region engage with the digital dollar, especially USDC, for quicker and more efficient financial transactions.
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