Rakuten customers can now use Bitcoin when shopping

Japanese retail giant Rakuten has linked its crypto wallet to its payment app. This allows customers to use their Bitcoin holdings in everyday purchases.

The crypto-friendly Japanese trading platform Rakuten now offers Rakuten Wallet users the option of using cryptocurrencies for everyday transactions. Rakuten Wallet is the platform’s crypto-exchange subsidiary

According to an announcement on February 24, users can now seamlessly top up their Rakuten Pay accounts with their Bitcoin ( BTC ), Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ) and Ether ( ETH ). Rakuten Pay is a mobile payment app that is used nationwide and is supported by many large and medium-sized merchants.

Rakuten had already offered to convert their Rakuten Group loyalty points into cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in 2019 . Now there is another integration. The Rakuten Wallet, Rakuten Cash (Rakuten’s e-money service), and Rakuten Pay will be linked and support cryptocurrency purchases from retailers such as McDonald’s, Seiyu, and FamilyMart.

There are no conversion fees between fiat, e-money and crypto holdings. However, there is a minimum purchase amount of around $ 9.40 and a monthly cap of around $ 940

To use the integration, users must be a Rakuten member and have a trading account with Rakuten Wallet. The company is also offering a small bonus in Rakuten Points as an incentive for the new service.