Pundi X Labs Unveils Retail POS For Cryptocurrencies

Isle of Man startup Pundi X Labs is looking to bring cryptocurrencies to brick-and-mortar businesses across Southeast Asia with a new point-of-sale (POS) device.

The Pundi X POS device will enable shops, cafes and convenience stores to buy, sell and accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method. It will also allow them to provide their customers with a quick and easy method for buying and selling cryptocurrency using cash, bank card, mobile wallet or Pundi X Pass.

Pundi X Labs said it aims to build the world’s largest offline cryptocurrency sales network. It seeks to be present in 100,000 stores over the next three years across all target markets.

Pundi X consists of the Pundi X POS, a device connected to the Ethereum blockchain, the Pundi X blockchain, which uses smart contracts to store transactions and credit rating data, and PXS tokens, the “gas” that powers Pundi X. Merchants must purchase PXS tokens to list their goods, services or cryptocurrency.

In the near future, Pundi X plans to collaborate with local financial institutions to create a credit rating system using blockchain technology targeted at Southeast Asia’s unbanked population.

The company will begin deploying its POS system in Indonesia in the growing network of its sister company Pundi-Pundi. Pundi-Pundi is a mobile payment startup that offers a scan-to-pay service similar to Alipay using QR codes to enable cashless payments. Pundi-Pundi launched almost a year ago and now counts 100,000 registered users and over 500 merchants in Jakarta.

“We’ve demonstrated the demand for cashless transactions with our Pundi-Pundi QR app which is now established as one of the biggest in Indonesia, following the Alipay model,” said Zac Cheah, CEO of Pundi X Labs. “Now we are well placed to build on our extensive user base and relationships with leading partners to take cashless transactions to the next level by bringing cryptocurrencies to the average consumer.”

“Less than 1% of the global population owns cryptocurrency despite its tremendous potential because the purchasing process is far too convoluted for the man or woman in the street. Now the mission for Pundi X is to make buying cryptocurrency as easy as buying a bottle of water – by providing universal access, anytime, anywhere.”

To fuel its growth, Pundi X said it is targeting large retailers and restaurant chains and looking to build relationships with companies that already have a large user base and/or supporting community.

A first agreement signed last with payment solutions provider E2Pay will give Pundi X access to the 100 million members of NU, the largest religious organization in the region, through an integration with NU Cash, the organization’s own payment app, and to 25,000 convenience stores operated by Bulog, one of the largest stores operators in Indonesia.

Pundi X is set to launch services with NU Cash and Bulog Pay in Q1 2018.