European e-retail giant Alza has started accepting Bitcoin as a method of payment and could soon add the likes of Ethereum and Litecoin as cryptocurrencies accepted for payments.
According to Slovakian publication Trend, the retail giant is enabling bitcoin payments for all of its e-stores, which are individually present in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Britain. The move, according to the company, is to meet the ‘numerous requests’ of customers asking to enable bitcoin as a payment method.
The retailer is using the services of E-commerce payment gateway Bitcoinpay to enable bitcoin payments at its online stores.
An Alza storefront in the Czech Republic.
Headquartered in Prague in the Czech Republic, Alza is the largest online retailer in the country and neighboring Slovakia. It is in Prague and Bratislava, the capitals of the two countries respectively, where Alza has installed Bitcoin ATMs in its retail storefronts. The two-way Bitcoin teller machines enable bitcoin buying and selling into euros Slovakian crowns and vice-versa.
Alza’s presence is predominantly seen in Central and Eastern Europe, but expansion plans to spread over to Western Europe to take on the likes of Amazon now sees it deliver to 25 EEA countries including the UK.
On its UK portal, Bitcoin is listed among four options including card, PayPal and bank payments. “The pay-as-you-go principle works within minutes,” the information reads, pointing to a ‘secure payment gateway’ to complete orders placed with bitcoin. Refunds in any scenario will be processed in Pound Sterling or Euro, not Bitcoin.
Alza’s head of internet marketing Jan Sadilek stated:
The introduction of bitcoin trading is going to meet the growing popularity of this form of payment and the potential of new technologies. Today, Prague is one of the most important bitcoin centers in Europe.
Furthermore, the retailer is also preparing to accept other cryptocurrencies with Ethereum and Litecoin named in the report.
News of Alza accepting payments comes soon after Russia’s online retailer Ulmart revealed plans toward accepting bitcoin from September this year, merely months after seeing the idea knocked down by Russia’s central bank.
Images of Alza showroom and an Alza store from Wikimedia.
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