This chapter deals with current cryptocurrency payment options within classic consumer transactions.
In order to use cryptocurrencies in general as a means of payment, this requires certain prerequisites. The most important requirement is that consumers have access to the technology necessary in using this new payment method.
This chapter highlights the options for consumers to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment and describes different methods and use cases. A snapshot and an overview of various payment options in the area of blockchain-based currency applications are to be drawn.
5.1 Research Question IV
What is the current status, in terms of adoption of cryptocurrencies as an accepted payment method, of the top 50 (turnover) online shops in Austria?
Cryptocurrencies are currencies designed for the Internet generation. The assumption is therefore obvious that a digital online currency is most likely to be offered as a payment option in online shops.
5.2 Methodology
The 50 companies with the highest turnover in Austria are identified on the basis of an existing data set/study by the EHI Retail Institute GmbH, in collaboration with Statista GmbH. The payment methods available at these shops are identified using online research. In a subsequent literature search, alternative payment options in the cryptocurrency environment are presented.
114 5.3 Sample
The EHI Retail Institute GmbH, in collaboration with Statista GmbH, provides an overview of the online shops with the highest sales in Austria and Switzerland. The study is based on an analysis of the 250 largest online shops from Austria and Switzerland, which the Cologne-based EHI Retail Institute and the Hamburg-based statistics company Statista have now carried out for the ninth time in summer / autumn 2019.
This study includes the data that lead to a list and determination of the 50 companies with the highest turnover in Austria.
The Study defines the term “e-commerce sales” as sales value for the ranking. E-commerce sales is defined as net sales (minus returns, excluding sales taxes) that were generated in the respective online shop in 2018 in Austria from business activity of the online shop (without other operating income). The focus of the study was B2C online shops for physical goods, sales of digital goods such as apps and streaming services, e.g. Apple iTunes and Spotify were not considered.
(Hofacker et al., 2019)
5.4 Cryptocurrency & the Top 50 Online-Shops in Austria
The following table contains a list of the 50 largest online shops on the Austrian market. An examination of the payment methods of these shops comes to the conclusion that not a single one of these large online trading platforms offers the possibility to pay with cryptocurrencies.
Table 30
Top 50 Online-Shops in Austria with cryptocurrency implementation
Rank Shop Link
E-commerce Sales 2019 (mio. €)
Product Segment Cryptocurrency
1 www.amazon.de 719,8 € Generalist No
2 www.zalando.at 341,8 € Clothing No
3 www.universal.at 125,0 € Generalist No
4 www.ottoversand.at 84,3 € Generalist No
5 www.mediamarkt.at 64,8 € Consumer
Electronics No
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6 www.shop-apotheke.at 61,9 € Health No
7 www.electronic4you.at 56,4 € Consumer
Electronics No
12 www.cyberport.at 50,4 € Consumer
Electronics No
19 www.notebooksbilliger.de 31,5 € Consumer
Electronics No
20 www.zooplus.de 31,2 € Pet Supplies No
21 www.ikea.com/at/de/ 28,4 € Furniture &
Housewares No
27 www.muenzeoesterreich.at 20,0 € Hobby &
Stationery No
28 www.mylemon.at 19,0 € Consumer
Electronics No
29 www.steinershopping.at 18,2 € DIY & Garden No
30 www.hornbach.at 18,0 € DIY & Garden No
31 www.alternate.at 17,4 € Consumer
Electronics No
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38 www.jako-o.com 11,7 € Toys & Baby No
39 www.zalando-lounge.at 11,6 € Clothing No
40 www.moebelix.at 11,4 € Furniture &
Housewares No
41 www.soliver.at 10,9 € Clothing No
42 www.douglas.at 10,6 € Health No
43 www.bergzeit.at 10,3 € Sports & Outdoor No 44 www.westwing.de 10,1 € Furniture &
Housewares No
45 www.aboutyou.at 10,1 € Clothing No
46 www.limango.de 9,9 € Generalist No
47 www.xxxlutz.at 9,3 € Furniture &
Housewares No
48 www.ditech.at 9,2 € Consumer
Electronics No
49 www.atp-autoteile.at 9,0 € Car & Motorcycle No
50 www.merkurmarkt.at/shop/ 8,9 € Food No
(Source: Hofacker et al., 2019 & own Research)
So more than a decade has passed since cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology spread throughout the world. However, the lack of acceptance in retail shows how little these payment methods are used in the real economy.
5.5 Cryptocurrency Payments in Detours
So far, cryptocurrencies have not reached everyday society and are not used as an accepted method of payment. Some providers have recognized this gap and have added special cryptocurrency credit cards to their portfolio.
In the crypto community, it is common to make online payments or wallet transfers. Examples of use include transactions from and to stock exchanges, various online shops, or to friends. Bitcoin
& Co., however, have not yet become widespread in everyday payments.
This creates a dilemma for users who hold part of their assets in coins. Without institutions or companies creating a bridge between the coins in the wallet and the accepted payment options of the providers, transactions with common shops won’t work. From this perspective, cryptocurrency credit cards form an interface that is currently necessary to do those transactions.
117 These providers combine the advantages of a credit card, such as worldwide payment at many acceptance points, with access to the coins in your own wallet.
Conventional credit cards differ according to the type of credit deposited:
• Revolving: The provider pre-finances all payments. It is the responsibility of the card holder to pay the debts incurred, for example by bank transfer.
• Charge: The provider pre-finances all payments. He automatically debits the resulting debts, for example monthly, from a reference account.
• Debit: The credit card works like a checking card. The provider debits any debts immediately and directly from the reference account or from the crypto credit.
• Prepaid: The cardholder must top up the card with a certain amount of credit. Payments can only be made up to this limit.
It is important to explain these different types of credit cards, because crypto credit cards are so far only working with the prepaid method. However, debit and prepaid cards are not accepted at numerous billing stations. (Weber, 2002, p. 83)
When the first crypto credit cards came on the market, an exhibitor quickly established itself as the main supplier in Europe: Wavecrest. Many companies wanted to meet customer demand as quickly as possible and concluded contracts with the bank from Gibraltar. In retrospect, this turned out to be the wrong decision. Visa terminated the cooperation in early 2018 with an unconfirmed cause. (t3n, 2018)
5.6 Answering the Research Question IV
Cryptocurrencies are not a widely accepted means of payment. The possibility for customers to use cryptocurrencies to purchase goods and services is almost non-existent.
None of the online shops identified as Austria’s largest offer the option to pay directly with cryptocurrencies.
However, there is the possibility to use so-called crypto credit cards as a means of payment indirectly.
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