Bitcoin is now reaching some of the most unexpected businesses. Here's the story of a small coffee shop in Amsterdam which had major success accepting bitcoin.
Ipo Evers, owner of Ipo's Coffee Gallery, had not heard of Bitcoin before the Bitcoin 2014 conference in Amsterdam this past May. Unbeknownst to him, an entire wave of new prospective customers was about to descend upon the city. Ipo's coffee shop was located in the same building as the conference, and was an ideal spot for conference goers to grab coffee and lunch in between panels. Naturally, it would make sense for him to open himself up to a new market by simply accepting an additional form of payment.
Leading up to the event, we approached Evers about accepting bitcoin. Although he was completely new to the technology, he understood its value and agreed to accept bitcoin through BitPay.
With almost 2,000 bitcoiners traveling to his area for the conference, Evers was unsure of how this new venture would affect his sales. Astoundingly, he saw a 50% increase in revenue surrounding the events of the conference with customers lining around the block to make a purchase.
From small businesses like Ipo's Coffee Gallery to companies with a global presence like TigerDirect, integrating with our platform to accept bitcoin is rather simple. Even as a bitcoin novice, Evers expressed that getting started with our service was very easy and that he had no difficulty while helping his customers. He described the average bitcoin users as technical trendsetters, bitcoin believers, and very bright and enthusiastic customers; however, this is not to say that only those who are highly-skilled with technology can use bitcoin. Our platform makes it easier for users with any level of technical expertise (or lack thereof) to use bitcoin, whether accepting it through their businesses or spending it as consumers.
Evers recognizes that accepting bitcoin exposes his cafe, or any business for that matter, to a new and unsaturated market, which he plans to take advantage of in the near future. He has intentions of opening an exclusive wine bar in the upcoming year where servers will use segways with built-in iPads to place orders and deliver drinks. He believes that his modern and contemporary clientele will be very receptive to using bitcoin, and he will continue to use our payment processing system with his new business. A revolutionary payment protocol like Bitcoin could even further enhance the experience of his modern wine bar.
In addition to praising the ease of our platform, Ipo noted that he has saved a significant amount of money by cutting down on credit card transaction fees. Accepting bitcoin through BitPay exposed Ipo's Coffee Gallery to a new swath of clientele with little hassle and no risk, a relationship that will carry on to his future business.
