digitec and Galaxus have introduced cryptocurrencies as a method of payment. Customers of the largest Swiss online shop can now pay with Bitcoin as well as a number of Altcoins such as Ethereum, Ripple or Litecoin.

Update from 16 August 2019: As of now, you can also use crypocurrencies to pay for orders below 200 francs.

As one of the first online shops in Switzerland, Digitec Galaxus now accepts cryptocurrencies: customers of the two online shops digitec and Galaxus can now use Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash ABC, Bitcoin Cash SV, Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin, Litecoin, TRON, NEO or OmiseGO to pay for all purchases with a total of over CHF 200.– or more. «Cryptocurrencies are fascinating and likely to become a relevant means of payment in e-commerce – we want to support this development,» says Oliver Herren, CIO and co-founder of Digitec Galaxus. «Of course I’m expecting all crypto millionaires in Switzerland to only buy from us in the future ;-).» There’s no lack of choice, that’s for sure: Digitec Galaxus currently offers around 2.7 million products; from shoehorns to wheat beer to gaming PCs.

The new payment method was co-developed as part of a pilot project with the Swiss e-payment specialist Datatrans AG. Datatrans AG cooperates with the Danish crypto payment provider Coinify. «So far, paying by cryptocurrencies hasn’t been viable for most people,» Hanspeter Maurer, Managing Director of Datatrans, explains. «We're keen to find out how digitec and Galaxus customers take up this offer.»

Steady exchange rate for 15 minutes

If customers of digitec and Galaxus choose the payment method «cryptocurrencies», the checkout process redirects them to a Coinify page where they’re asked to select the desired means of payment from a list. After this, customers receive a conversion rate that applies during 15 minutes as well as all payment details in text and QR code format. The customer then triggers the transaction with a so-called crypto wallet.

Digitec Galaxus does not charge any fees for payments made in cryptocurrencies. Coinify charges a fee of 1.5% of the purchase price via the conversion rate. Additional yet small transaction fees are incurred depending on the currencies and how quickly the transaction needs to be confirmed. Coinify usually confirms payments within a few minutes. The Coinify payment page always shows the latest payment status. «The technology is constantly improved,» states Datatrans boss Maurer, «faster and more cost-effective transactions are already in sight.»

Read more about how the Digitec Galaxus software engineers implemented the new payment method in this article or check out what our CIO Oliver Herren has to say in a short interview.

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Find out more about crypto wallets here.

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CIO Oliver Herren

Contact for media representatives

Digitec Galaxus AG

Corporate Communications

Pfingstweidstrasse 60, CH-8005 Zurich

Phone: +41 44 575 96 96

E-mail: media@digitecgalaxus.ch