Deloitte has rolled out a scheme for their staff to purchase their lunch at the company’s canteen utilising Bitcoin. It is the company’s plan to see if the popular cryptocurrency can be adopted for use on mundane, daily purchases, also known as micropayments. Bitcoin is infamous for its price fluctuations and volatility, so it is hardly the first digital currency that comes to mind when making small payments for meals, for example.
Deloitte’s decision to utilise Bitcoin may come as a surprise to many as Bitcoin transactions are known for taking a lengthy amount of time to process. A single Bitcoin transaction takes an average of 8.2 minutes to be confirmed, which is rather inefficient as compared to current payment processes in fiat currencies for the same small purchases, which are verified nearly instantly.
While it is testing Bitcoin as a payment currency in the firm’s canteen, Deloitte has also mentioned that it is neither “prioritising micropayments”, nor does the firm have any intentions of accepting Bitcoin as a medium of transactions from its clients.
The firm is also very keen on developing its own blockchain network in transactions involving some of the financial services they provide, especially in fund management. The properties of blockchain networks, including its transparency, immutability and decentralisation, can aid Deloitte in its audits.
Details for Deloitte’s plans in getting their staff to use Bitcoin in this manner have not yet been revealed, but if Bitcoin is directly used to purchase meals without any additional applications, such as the Bitcoin Lightning Network, Deloitte’s staff may end up using their lunch hours just waiting for their payments to process, without actually being able to enjoy their food.
