Austrian citizens can now pay with crypto across 2,500 merchants

Cryptocurrencies currently supported include Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dash

Cryptocurrency users in Austria can now use their tokens to pay for a variety of goods and services.

This was made possible due to a collaboration between payment processor Salamantex and A1 Payment — one of the country’s largest telecom firms. Users can now pay using crypto in more than 2,500 merchants.

The announcement was first made by Salamantex on July 2. As of writing, the three tokens that are supported by the payments system are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dash.

“Merchants can use it to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Dash instead of cash or credit card, but receive the amount paid out in Euros, just as they are used to.” the press release reads.

The system has been tested for several months in selected A1 shops around the country.

This change was made after the country saw a significant shift in perspective when it came to cryptocurrencies after people were urged by the government and retailers to start making the shift to cashless payment transactions.

The Chief Operating Officer of Salamantex, Markus Pejacsevich, emphasised that the goal of the company is to make payments with digital currencies at the checkout as ubiquitous as credit cards in the last few decades.

“With A1, we have a partner for the Austria-wide rollout who, just like us, is convinced of this payment system of the future and works towards making payment with digital assets accessible to the broad masses. The acceptance of cryptocurrencies opens up new affluent customer groups and enables merchants to position themselves as pioneers in their industry.” Pejacsevich said.

Head of A1 Business Marketing,  Markus Schreiber, said that he believed Salamantex is their ideal partner to help establish digital payments across the country.

“By integrating the solution of Salamantex, we can now add the payment option with cryptocurrencies to our range of services. Security and reliability were our highest priorities both when selecting our partner and during the integration process.” Schreiber explained.

This crypto payment service software, developed by Salamantex, is meant to integrate into existing payment processes. Their partnerships with A1, Ingenico and Concar provides the opportunity to roll out these services across Austria and into neighbouring countries in the future.

A few months ago, Ingenico showcased Salamanatex’s first POS terminal with integrated crypto payment software at the EuroShop trade fair in Germany.

Further collaborations with other payment service providers are already in the works.