One thing that is worth thinking about is the role of the underserved merchant in the adoption of a new payment system. Specifically, I mean merchants who today cannot easily collect payments from customers (i.e. it requires high up-front or ongoing cost), but with a new payment system they can collect easily and have enough margin to run a business. Some examples of underserved merchants and their enablers are:• eBay merchants enabled by PayPal • Farmers’ Market merchants enabled by Square • Developers who want to collect payments online enabled by Stripe • Drug dealers enabled by Bitcoin Underserved merchants have something people want, but customers can’t pay. The underserved audience is the engine that fuel the growth of new payment systems and helps the system move upmarket and be accepted by bigger, more established merchants.With this lens, let’s think about a few specific examples where there are merchants who have something people want, but it is hard/expensive/capital-intensive/need-a-middle-man to accept payments today.

Bitcoin FAQ — Medium Saturday, April 5, 2014 @ 5:09pm | Modified