Report: Intuit QuickBooks sees "higher than expected" interest in bitcoin payments

In June, Inuit’s payment processing system QuickBooks Online announced plans to incorporate bitcoin into their small-business invoicing system. Even at the time, Intuit’s PayByCoin initiative seemed more like a clever marketing and branding move than a truly in-demand service, as the small size of the bitcoin ecosystem suggested only a few tech-forward companies would be interested. According to a new report on CoinDesk, however, there was far more demand for such a system than anyone, including Intuit, realized.

Speaking with CoinDesk, Intuit engineer Clinton Nielsen claims that PayByCoin has already gained significant traction with small businesses. Nielsen said that customers have had an “overwhelmingly positive attitude” to PayByCoin developments, even in the face of the ongoing public debate about bitcoin’s price instability. While he didn’t give exact figures on sign ups for the program, Nielson told CoinDesk that “We’ve seen more sign-ups than we expected.”

Intuit’s Group Product Manager Manish Shah, who co-created the PayByCoin system, has a somewhat cautious view of bitcoin adoption by Intuit customers. He called the program a “good starting point” for bitcoin invoicing and accounting programs, but is cautious about the pace of mainstream adoption. “The majority of businesses that have heard about bitcoin are sitting on the sidelines because they are worried about currency fluctuation,” Shah told CoinDesk. “A lot of small businesses are skeptical about adoption, just like any new technology.”

Shah did note that other Intuit Labs programs are investigating possible uses for bitcoin, including applications for smart contracts, document ownership and other small-business focused solutions.