Canadian Jewelry Retailer Birks Now Accepts Bitcoin Payments

Birks Group, one of the oldest luxury jewelry retailers in Canada, is now accepting bitcoin payments at some stores.

The firm announced Tuesday that it has partnered with U.S.-based bitcoin payments processor BitPay to enable “faster, easier and more secure” purchases for customers.

Currently, bitcoin payments are enabled at eight of the group's stores, located at Vancouver West Hastings, Brinkhaus Calgary, Fairview Mall, Bloor, Yorkdale, Montreal and Calgary, out of 26 that it operates across Canada.

Some of the brands that are available for purchase through bitcoin are Rolex, Bulgari, Cartier and Breitling, the firm said. Its two recently launched stores in Vancouver, Graff and Patek Philippe, are also expected to accept the cryptocurrency in the near future.

“As an internationally growing brand, we believe that BitPay will benefit our customers as we look to align ourselves with these innovative capabilities that are on the forefront of technology,” Birks Group president and CEO Jean-Christophe Bédos said.

The firm added that this is BitPay’s "first major implementation" of its point-of-sale solution in the Canada.

“Accepting bitcoin helps Birks Group to cater to their high-end international clients and get new customers while providing an innovative and safe payment option,” said Sonny Singh, BitPay’s chief commercial officer.

The news marks Birks as the latest jewelry seller to accept bitcoin for goods. As early as 2014, U.S-based jewelry chain REEDS Jewelers started accepting bitcoins both at its online marketplace and over 60 stores across the country, through a partnership with Coinbase.

Last year in December, APMEX, one of the largest online gold dealers, also started accepting bitcoin, again through BitPay. And most recently, Pennsylvania-based Marks Jewelers partnered with e-commerce platform Shopping Cart Elite to accept crypto payments, including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and litecoin.

Birks store image via Shutterstock