BitPay has partnered with payments giant Ingenico to allow brick and mortar stores to accept bitcoin via its point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
The payment solution, unveiled today as part of Blockchain Week, was developed by BitPay and installed on an Ingenico Terminal ICT250.
According to the company, it will be compatible with the majority of Ingenico terminals as they run its operating system, Telium.
Speaking about the integration, Miguel Angel Hernandez, managing director of Ingenico Iberia, said in a statement:
“Participating in such an important project has allowed Ingenico Group to demonstrate its leadership in the payment space and bring a safe and secure payment method like virtual currency to the end user.”
Customers can pay with bitcoin at applicable Ingenico terminals after merchants generate a QR code by entering the fiat sale price. The code can then be scanned with a bitcoin wallet app.
The France-based company, which employs over 5,000 people globally, reported a revenue of €1.37bn in 2013.
Spreading bitcoin globally
Earlier this year, Ingenico partnered with Paymium to enable retailers in Europe to accept bitcoin payments.
A spokesperson for BitPay, however, said that this new partnership would make this solution available on a global scale. Additionally, he said, all BitPay merchants currently accepting traditional fiat payments via compatible Ingenico terminals can now also accept payments in bitcoin.
“We are excited to partner with Ingenico Group, one of the leading payment processors in both physical and online commerce. This integration will help us expand bitcoin payments to thousands of retail payments worldwide,” said BitPay’s executive chairman, Tony Gallipi.
The company made headlines last month after it announced it would be reducing the size of its staff in an attempt to “better align with the pace of growth” in the industry.
Point of sale terminal image via Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay.