Swiss payments system aims to link bitcoin and retailers
Prominent European payment infrastructure provider Worldline has teamed up with financial services firm Bitcoin Suisse to allow cryptocurrency enthusiasts to spend their bitcoin in Swiss shops.
This content was published on
3 minutes
When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch's business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland - including the frozen lake of St Moritz.
Worldline last year took over SIX Payment Services, the former arm of the Swiss stock exchange group that provides payment card terminals in 85,000 Swiss retail outlets. The French company now wants to hook this infrastructure up with cryptocurrencies.
It has signed a letter of intentExternal link with Swiss crypto company Bitcoin Suisse, which will act as a go-between, converting bitcoin into Swiss francs that will be used to pay for goods and services in Switzerland.
The partnership is still at an early stage with a pilot project planned for 2020. Once it finally goes live, at a date that has yet to be determined, it remains to be seen how many merchants will sign on. If successful, Worldline says it will roll the service out to other European countries.
Ambitious
The Worldline/Bitcoin Suisse deal is the most ambitious project to date to bring cryptocurrencies into the mainstream Swiss retail sector.
Earlier this year, Switzerland’s largest online retailer, Digitec Galaxus, teamed up with e-payment specialist Datatrans and Danish crypto firm Coinify to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.
The luxury Dolder Grand hotel was among a handful of early adopters of the Swiss Inapay system that allows merchants to take cryptocurrency payments without having to handle it themselves.
The latest crypto retail payments offering will most likely start life as an e-payments service, according to Armin Schmid, CEO of Swiss Crypto Tokens, a division of Bitcoin Suisse.
Fee structure
Schmid, who used to work at Swiss Payment Services and Paypal, believes that the service will be enticing for retailers, even though it plans to start on a small scale.
“A mass roll-out of cryptocurrency retail payments is only possible with the involvement of big players such as Worldline,” he told swissinfo.ch. “Many Swiss retailers adopted Alipay to meet demand from customers. We believe our service will create demand for cryptocurrency payments.”
The fee structure for using the service has yet to be defined, added Schmid. But he believes it will not cost merchants any more than accepting credit or debit cards. It will initially concentrate on bitcoin, with the option of including other cryptocurrencies at a later date.
Efficiently using cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, as everyday payments also hinges on smoothing out huge exchange rate volatility with traditional currencies. Such a service would also have to convince regulators that it is not being used to launder money.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
This content was published on
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Top politician tells ‘corrupt’ Eurovision to stay away from Bern
This content was published on
A social media post by the president of Bern’s cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.
Swiss centre records over 200 victims of human trafficking
This content was published on
Last year 317 people took part in a protection programme run by the Specialist Unit for Trafficking in Women and Women’s Migration (FIZ) in German-speaking Switzerland.
This content was published on
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Lack of smartphone sustainability in Switzerland hits environment
This content was published on
Almost half of all Swiss citizens hang on to their old smartphones, tablets and laptops, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Police clear out pro-Palestinian students protesting in Geneva
This content was published on
The police intervened early on Tuesday to dislodge pro-Palestinian students who had been occupying the University of Geneva for almost a week.
New gel developed in Zurich renders alcohol harmless
This content was published on
A newly developed gel composed of whey proteins breaks down alcohol in the body and could reduce its harmful and intoxicating effects in humans.
Pro-Palestine protests extend to Basel and Fribourg universities
This content was published on
Demonstrators called for an academic boycott of all Israeli institutions and disassociation with Chaim Weizmann, the first Israeli president.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Cryptocurrencies accepted by Switzerland’s biggest online retailer
This content was published on
The move may go some way to answering the question posed by many bitcoin holders: “I have cryptocurrencies, now what do I do with them?” Created in 2008, bitcoin was the first blockchain-based peer-to-peer payment system designed to rival currencies printed by governments. And in the last decade, hundreds of bitcoin imitators – commonly referred…
This content was published on
One of Switzerland’s most prestigious hotels, a luxury car dealer and a wine merchant will soon start accepting payments in bitcoin.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.