Bitcoin Voucher Scheme Bitupcard Expands to 300 Shops in Turkey

Prepaid bitcoin voucher service Bitupcard is now available at an additional 270 retail locations across Turkey.

The announcement, which follows on from the launch of a pilot scheme that saw $25,000-worth of bitcoin sold in 10 weeks, raises the number of retail locations offering over-the-counter bitcoin purchases in the country to 300.

The scheme is run by Amsterdam-based bitcoin seller Bit4coin in conjunction with Berlin-based firm MK Payment.

Dolf Diederichsen, CEO at Bit4coin said:

"We are excited with the early success we are seeing in the market. The launch has exceeded our expectations, and we are very happy to quickly expand the reach and make Bitupcard even more accessible to more customers."

Ibrahim Tarlig, CEO of MK Payment, added: "The market reception has been very positive and many customers told us that they would like to buy Bitupcard e-vouchers, but that the stores were simply too far away from where they lived or worked."

How it works

The Bitupcard e-voucher, which works similarly to prepaid mobile vouchers, is available in denominations of 50–500 Turkish lira (roughly $20–$200).

After paying for the voucher, customers receive a paper receipt with a voucher code. The buyer then has to enter the unique code, along with their bitcoin address, at bitupcard.com

The customer should subsequently receive the digital currency in their bitcoin wallet in a matter of hours.

Future plans

When asked about future expansion plans, Diederichsen confirmed that the partnership was planning to increase the store network in Turkey even further.

"We are already in discussions with partners who could get us access to multiple thousand locations. We have also initiated talks in other markets ... as well – both the Middle East and Asia," he said.

Diederichsen added that Turkey's bitcoin community was seemingly smaller in comparison to other markets, such as Amsterdam or Berlin, but said that "it was very devoted and growing".