Once regarded with uncertainty, crypto transactions have started sharing the stage with traditional finance. The sudden boom of cryptocurrency millionaires in the past decade shook the world. Nevertheless, people have identified the potential of decentralized finance as so much more than trading cryptocurrencies.
Binance is not a new player, having launched in July 2017. The cryptocurrency exchange announced a pilot program for in-store crypto transactions in France, starting with a few merchants. Hence, you can pay with cryptocurrency at the supported stores if you don’t want to use fiat currency.
Statistics continue to show increased adoption of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance services. The bitcoin blockchain recorded over $8 trillion in transactions in 2022. So, let’s run through Binance and Ingenico’s partnership and what it brings to crypto adopters in France.
The Partnership
Binance is a household name in the cryptocurrency industry, holding the title of the largest exchange. It has a native coin for its smart chain. However, its main selling point is its support for over 300 cryptocurrencies.
The exchange is approved to operate in several countries, including France, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Italy. This move to offer in-store crypto transactions in France is significant, especially its partnership with a mainstream credit card service.
Ingenico supports hundreds of payment options, from credit cards to closed-loop networks and Near Field Communications (NFC) technologies. It is a mainstream provider in France and a pioneer for contactless payments.
Binance and Ingenico announced their partnership on February 22, 2023, to bring in-store crypto transactions to France. The pilot will begin via Binance Pay and use Ingenico Axium payment terminals in the country. As of this writing, two merchants, Miss Opera and Le Carlie, are on board to kick off the program.
Binance hopes to add other European nations in the coming months. However, we can only look at the success of this pilot in France.
Crypto-to-fiat solution coming soon
The new decentralized finance solution will accept over 50 cryptocurrencies and process crypto-to-crypto transactions. That means that merchants will receive payments in cryptocurrencies.
In-store payment devices often require integrations to accommodate or process crypto payments. However, the partnership promises an all-in-one device that will ease adoption by merchants and consumers.
The details of this all-in-one device are yet to be revealed. Nonetheless, the head of Binance Pay and Binance Card, Jonathan Lim, referred to it as a new way to approach the market. It focuses primarily on consumers for easy payments.
The pilot will begin with crypto-to-crypto transactions. However, Binance and Ingenico hope to release the crypto-to-fiat solution in the second quarter of 2023. That will allow merchants to receive fiat currencies when consumers pay with cryptocurrency.
Binance’s Big Moves
France’s in-store cryptocurrency transaction project is not the first for Binance. The crypto exchange giant has made giant strides in several countries worldwide. An example is the South American nation of Brazil.
Binance successfully launched a prepaid cryptocurrency card following its partnership with MasterCard. That adds to Brazil’s bubbling crypto payment solution, with over 500 firms owning a crypto ATM or accepting crypto payments.
Users with a national ID can obtain the card for payments and bills. Furthermore, the prepaid card supports 13 cryptocurrencies and has a 0.9% charge per transaction.
The successful deployment of a similar solution in Argentina emboldened Binance to take it to Brazil. We may not have seen the last of this industry titan advancing cryptocurrency transactions globally.
More Mainstream Crypto Transactions Underway
Binance’s moves in Europe are outstanding, but it is not the only company implementing crypto payments. Others have closed the gap between traditional and decentralized payment systems.
Bit2Me, a Spanish cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a partnership with MasterCard.The latter launched a new debit card with a 9% crypto cashback on all online or in-store purchases.
Final Thoughts
Bigwigs in the cryptocurrency industry are pushing adoption and integration into mainstream payment systems. We have seen crypto debit cards in South America and Europe. Even so, there is more to come in the coming months.
The uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies is gone. People have settled down and begun accepting them. In the US, NBC News reported that 21% of adults owned cryptos.
Binance is making big moves, and we look forward to the coming months. France might be its starting point for driving in-store cryptocurrency payments.
WeInvests is a financial portal-based research agency. We do our utmost best to offer reliable and unbiased information about crypto, finance, trading and stocks. However, we do not offer financial advice and users should always carry out their own research.
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