One of Europe’s largest insurance firms AXA now allows its customers to pay their bills with Bitcoin (BTC) through a partnership with crypto-financial service provider Bitcoin Suisse.
Starting this April 15, AXA stated in a press release that bitcoin payments will be accepted for all of their products except for the insurance services due to regulatory barriers enforced by the government of Switzerland.
AXA also indicated that the coronavirus pandemic is a key factor that drove the economy’s digital transformation which is why the insurance company has included cryptocurrency transactions in their services.
Head of Open Innovation at AXA Switzerland Claudia Bienentreu explained that the acceptance of Bitcoin payments is the key to success due to the convenience that it offers.
‘AXA’s response to [the] growing demand from its customers for alternative payment solutions, with new technologies playing an ever-greater role,’ she added.
On the contrary, although the company is now accepting BTC, AXA does not plan to manage all of the digital assets on their own.
‘The bitcoins go to the crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse, which converts them into Swiss francs. AXA holds no bitcoins on its balance sheet,’ the company indicated at a press release with Cointelegraph.
The future of AXA’s crypto payments
In Cointelegraph’s press release with the insurance provider, AXA stated that the company plans to gather some experience with Bitcoin first before accepting other forms of cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, AXA indicated that more crypto payment services will only be added to the payment option if they receive positive feedback from the customers. These included mobile payment applications like TWINT.
‘The range of payment options and services that can be used via the web and the Myaxa app will continue to expand going forward,’ AXA stated during the press release.
In response to AXA’s current project, chairman of one of the largest wine companies in America, John Kapon remarked:
‘Cryptocurrencies are no longer a passing fad, and, as one of the oldest licensed businesses in America, Acker is proud to accept this novel form of payment as we continue to evolve in our third century as a company.’
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