Crypto Pay Adoption Booms in Spanish-speaking Countries

Venezuela’s government claims that some 93 commercial establishments in the country now accept its oil-backed, state-issued Petro digital token, while a Spanish travel agency claims that over 7% of its customers paid using Bitcoin in 2018 and the company has recently added new crypto pay options.

Per a state media report, the head of the government’s Sunacrip national cryptocurrency agency claimed that in addition to the 36 Traki department stores that now accept Petro payments, all 22 outlets of the Local Committees for Supply and Production chain (known locally as Clap) also welcome Petro pay.

Clap provides door-to-door delivery for items such as groceries, household goods, clothing and electronics.

The Sunacrip chief also stated that footwear and clothing stores, fast food chains and sportswear brands in Venezuela were accepting Petro as a form of payment. However, the head of the agency did not provide any numbers that would show how this payment option is really being used.

Elsewhere in the country, reports have circulated suggesting that the state-owned Banco de Venezuela (once an affiliate of Santander) has opened Petro-only counters for its customers.

A Twitter account run by a pro-crypto media group in Venezuela posted a video on Twitter that appears to show that a Petro counter has been set up at the bank’s flagship branch in Caracas.

Although a fellow Twitter user challenged the veracity of the report, the media group replied that Sunacrip had in fact confirmed the development, and even suggested that Banco de Venezuela would be launching Petro-only counters at all of its flagship branches in each of Venezuela’s 23 states.

As previously reported, the country claims that the Petro is also gaining international approval, despite the fact that it has been officially banned by the United States, which has threatened to impose sanctions on countries and companies that deal in the oil-backed token.

Meanwhile, in Spain, CIO reports that travel agency Destinia has begun accepting payments in Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Litecoin, Ethereum and Dash.

The company became the first travel agency in Europe to accept Bitcoin all the way back in 2014.

Destinia says that over 7% of its customers paid using BTC in 2018, and will henceforth make use of a system that allows customers to make payments using “a wide variety of crypto wallets.”

The travel agency says crypto-paying customers can use Bitcoin or the aforementioned altcoins as a payment method for all flight and train bookings, as well as hotels and travel packages.

Also, as reported yesterday, the Coffee Axis town of Pereira, in Colombia’s western Risaralda department, appears to be turning into the country’s unofficial cryptocurrency capital. The town has a population of just over 474,000, but, reportedly boasts at least 29 stores that accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment.