Bancoagricola El Salvador’s largest bank now accepts Bitcoin as payment

  • September 13, 2021

Bancoagricola El Salvador’s largest bank now accepts Bitcoin as payment

According to a press release, Bancoagricola, El Salvador’s largest bank, is now taking bitcoin as payment for obligations incurred as a result of the usage of its instruments. To add bitcoin capabilities in its software, the institution worked with Flexa, a payments network. Merchants using Wompi services (a digital payment processor) can also receive bitcoin for goods and services sold through Bancoagricola.

Bancoagricola Supports Bitcoin

Bancoagricola, El Salvador’s largest banking institution, was one of the first to support bitcoin in its financial instruments. This means that its users will be allowed to use bitcoin to pay for financial instruments (such as loans, mortgages, and credit card debt) while adhering to the bitcoin law.

Customers of the bank who use Wompi, a digital payment gateway, will be able to receive bitcoin payments using this service. Bancoagricola’s COO, Carlos Mauricio Novoa, stated:

“We are thrilled to be the first financial institution in El Salvador to offer bitcoin to our customers across our entire suite of financial products, thereby increasing financial inclusion.”

The bank also stated that by the end of the year, it plans to fully support bitcoin payments through its point-of-sale terminals.

Flexa Collaboration in El Salvador

Bancoagricola worked with Flexa, a digital payments platform, to achieve this goal. The organization was able to simply add bitcoin-related services into the platform as a result of this. Customers will be able to receive bitcoin payments directly through Flexa, which will be incorporated into Bancoagricola’s PoS network. Banks and other businesses are beginning to integrate bitcoin into their payment networks in order to comply with bitcoin’s legal tender status, which was granted on June 9.

Flexa’s co-founder, Trevor Filter, stated:

“It’s fantastic to have the chance to work with organizations as inventive and world-class as Bancoagrcola and Grupo Bancolombia to improve payment technology for millions of Salvadorans in such a tangible and impactful way.”

Bancoagricola has approximately 1,000 client service points across the country, with over 5,400 people to serve them. As a result, the impact of this provision on how citizens pay their obligations is critical. In the next few days, other banks are anticipated to announce multiple arrangements in order to accommodate clients in accordance with the law.

Despite all of the buzz surrounding bitcoin, the majority of Salvadorans (seven out of ten) oppose its usage as legal cash, according to a poll conducted by the University Institute of Public Opinion.

Movine Oduor
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