More than 25,000 retail stores in France are expected to accept Bitcoin by 2020 thanks to a new partnership between Global POS, EasyWallet, and Easy2Play.
30 French retailers to accept Bitcoin payments
According to a recent report published by local news outlet Le Figaro, around 30 retail stores in the country will be accepting Bitcoin payments by 2020.
Some of these shops include Sephora, Boulanger, Foot Locker, Decathlon, Conforama, Maison du Monde, Intersport, Cultura, Norauto and many others.
While shoppers will be able to pay for their purchases using Bitcoin, the funds will automatically be converted to euros at the point of sale.
The CEO and founder of Global POS, Stéphane Djiane, believes that the partnership marks an important symbolic step in the way individuals pay for purchases in France.
“This is an important symbolic step in the evolution of payment methods in France. However, more than a symbol, what we bring to 25,000 outlets is the ability to safely enter the world of Economy 3.0.”
Mr. Dijane has also stated that they are planning to support other digital currencies in the future.
This first stage would test how Bitcoin is integrated and how customers make use of this new payment method.
With this initiative, they also expect to increase the number of crypto users in the country, considering between three and six percent of French nationals own cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this year, French ‘tabac’ shops started selling Bitcoin through a voucher system created by the fintech group Keplerk.
Users can purchase these vouchers in these tobacco shops and redeem them for Bitcoin in an electronic wallet using Keplerk’s website.
Bitcoin expands to stores around the world
As Micky reported earlier this year, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies got a boost when they became accepted at major retailers in over 30,000 stores in the United States.
Flexa payments network partnered with the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini in order to create the SPEDN application. With it, users can spend their digital assets in thousands of stores.
Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble, GameStop, Office Depot, Lowes, and Starbucks are just some of the retailers in which customers now have the option of paying with digital currencies.
The cryptocurrencies supported by the SPEDN application include Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and the Gemini Dollar (GUSD).
One of the main benefits of accepting crypto payments for retailers is a reduction in processing costs that tend to affect customers.
For example, credit card processing fees are often passed on to the customer in the form of higher prices for products and services.
Businesses are beginning to recognize the cost savings that adding cryptocurrency as a payment option could bring to their bottom lines.
Digital asset management firm Grayscale recently tweeted about the growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a means of payment.
The company has been conducting a campaign called “Drop Gold” in which tout the benefits of investors moving from gold to Bitcoin.
More than 100,000 merchants and organizations
worldwide now take payment in #Bitcoin. Try using #gold to make your next purchase and see how far that gets you. pic.twitter.com/iUyA7VurJH— Grayscale (@Grayscale) August 22, 2019