Bitcoin Accepting Retailers Will Gain Insurance in Japan

 Beginning today, Japanese bitcoin exchange and startup bitFlyer will offer insurance to bitcoin-accepting retailers and merchants against failed customer payments.In a first in the country, Japanese merchants will now be covered against damages in the event of any transaction failures involving bitcoin. Transaction failures include any mishaps with payment systems or gateway issues and plausibly even transaction delays, all of which will be covered under the new insurance policy.According to the nikkei, the insurance package will be offered by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance to merchants adopting the point-of-sale and/or bitcoin payments gateway infrastructure provided by Tokyo-based bitcoin startup and exchange bitFlyer. Competing bitcoin startup Coincheck is also set to offer a similar insurance product for merchants, with its partnership with Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, sparking off a wider trend toward encouraging merchants and retailers to adopt bitcoin as a method of payment.The merchant insurance offering will now be applicable to the likes of Bic Camera, a Japanese consumer electronics retail chain that began accepting bitcoin payments in April, after new legislation that recognized bitcoin as a legal method of payment in the country.When Coincheck rolls out its merchant insurance service, Japanese retailer Recruit Lifestyle – also accepting bitcoin since April – will be among the clients insured. Recruit is notably including bitcoin in AirRegi, a point-of-sale app developed by the firm which will see bitcoin payments enabled at some 260,000 retail location across Japan.