"'Can I pay with bitcoin?' he asks, and the person behind the counter holds out what looks like a credit card payment terminal. It is in fact a machine for paying by crypto currency. The equipment has been distributed free to local retail businesses by the city council. The buyer pays by contactless, from the bitcoin wallet on his mobile phone."
"I get talking to the McDonald's customer, Nicolas, who comes from France. He is what you might call a bitcoin true believer. 'What's great about paying in bitcoin is the feeling of freedom it gives you,' he says. 'You are no longer dependant on a financial system with its middlemen and its costs.' Nicolas says he's discovered bitcoin cards in Switzerland. These are prepaid gift cards. You buy a certain sum in Swiss francs but download it in bitcoin onto a digital wallet on your phone."
A McDonald's in Lugano accepts bitcoin via a contactless crypto payment terminal supplied free to local retailers. Customers pay from bitcoin wallets on mobile phones; one example bill amounted to 0.00008629 bitcoin (about $8.80). Around 350 shops and restaurants in the city accept bitcoin alongside Swiss francs. The city council accepts cryptocurrency for municipal services, including pre-school childcare. Some residents use prepaid bitcoin gift cards that convert a Swiss franc amount into bitcoin on a digital wallet. Merchants report accepting bitcoin to reduce processing fees and to attract customers who prefer crypto payments.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]