Austrian Telecommunications giant A1 tests cryptocurrency payment system

One of the largest Austrian telecommunications companies A1 is testing a system for paying for goods with cryptocurrencies in several stores in the country.

A1 serves more than 5 million mobile numbers and 2.1 million fixed lines in Austria. Now users will be able to pay for goods and services in cryptocurrencies DASH, ETH, LTC, XLM and XRP. Interestingly, the new opportunity will be available not only for Austrian citizens, but also for tourists.

In addition, as part of the pilot program, payment acceptance using Alipay and WeChat Pay will be launched by the end of August. Now the system is tested in seven stores in Austria. The partners of A1 were the developers of banking solutions Salamantex, Ingenico and Concardis – with the help of their solutions, the system eliminates fluctuations in the rate of cryptocurrencies at the time of payment.

“The use of cash is declining. Thanks to testing, we will find out the demand for receiving digital currencies in Austria, ”said Marcus Schreiber, head of marketing at A1.

Note that the Austrians are quite skeptical about bitcoin. They hold conservative views on investing issues and are especially cautious about cryptocurrencies. Only 13% of Austrians look at the new class of digital assets on the positive side.