Belgium-based green energy provider Elegant is now accepting bitcoin payments following requests from various clients.
The private company, which currently supplies almost 30,000 households and SMEs, has partnered with BitPay to accept payments in the digital currency.
Maarten De Cuyper, CEO at Elegant, said:
“We have been innovative in our product offering and customer contact. With this in mind, accepting bitcoins is not so strange – we are happy to be the first mover in Belgium.”
Once registered for bitcoin payments, users will automatically receive a BitPay link with their monthly electricity or gas invoice.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Thomas Goemaere, one of the consumers who requested the bitcoin payment option, said:
“I am very happy about this. My goal is to live without a bank account as soon as possible. I am still far from that, but the electricity invoice is an important part of my monthly budget, so that’s a big step forward for me.”
“Bitcoin is still quite alien in Belgium. However, Elegant is a wonderful add-on to Mobile Vikings, a mobile phone operator and pizza.be, an online pizza delivery service, that promote and accept the currency,” he added.
De Cuyper said that the company had already registered two bitcoin payments, despite the fact the new offering hadn’t yet been publicised.
Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay.
Green image via Shutterstock.