Central Retail Corp., a major retailer in Thailand, is experimenting with digital currency among its employees.
According to a Bloomberg article, after the sandbox phase is completed, the retail giant aims to expand the service to consumers and the wider public.
The “C-Coin,” a blockchain-based cryptocurrency, is being offered to 80,000 Central Retail Corp employees around the world as a bonus to their regular income as a reward for great performance.
While C-Coin holders can use it to pay for meals and purchase goods and services from Central Retail’s partners, this is simply a pilot initiative for the company. The company’s long-term goal is to move toward cashless societies and to enter the e-commerce business.
The currency may be made available to the general public once all employees have signed up and the company has a better understanding of its success, according to Kowin Kulruchakorn, Central Tech’s chief innovation officer. The C-Coin was established by Central Retail’s Central Tech unit, which also maintains all of CRC’s omnichannel and e-commerce technologies.
Central Retail Corp owns more than 40 department stores and high-end retail outlets in Thailand, making it the country’s largest shopping complex owner. Central Festival, Big C Supercenter, and Seacon Square are also under its control. It owns the Italian department store La Rinascente, the Danish brand Illum, and the Vietnamese supermarket chain Big C.
Central Retail Corp. isn’t the only company in Thailand working on a digital currency. The Bank of Thailand has declared that it is considering a central bank digital currency, according to Cointelegraph. The initial testing phase for the digital baht is planned to begin in Q2 2022.
