Brothers bring Bitcoin to city restaurants
TOOWOOMBA brothers Adnun and Albab Khan never thought they would introduce a currency other than the Australian dollar into their restaurants.
But yesterday the Khans’ businesses Cioccolato and Primitivo became the first in Toowoomba to give customers the option of paying for their food via Bitcoin.
The type of digital cryptocurrency has become a worldwide phenomenon, with just one Bitcoin worth $24,855.82, as of yesterday afternoon.
“Back in the early times there was bartering and that slowly moved onto gold and then onto cash and then we have had a jump from Eftpos into this new phenomenon called Bitcoin,” Albab said.
The brothers said Bitcoin was just like any other currency and allowing customers to use it meant they paid less in bank fees otherwise charged with Eftpos purchases.
“There is a lot of people around the world using Bitcoin currently so I think it’s progression I guess for us,” Adnun said.
“It is just convenient. It literally takes you a few seconds just to scan a QR code and then put in the amount and instantly the amount is transferred into the account.”
Just over an hour after introducing the payment method yesterday, two people had already used their Bitcoin to buy food by using the Bitcoin Wallet app on their smart phones.
“I guess it’s a niche thing too, so once people get a lot more comfortable with the currency they will start using it more,” Adnun said.