Valora is making it even easier to use cryptocurrencies. Customers can now buy bitcoins directly at k kiosk, Press & Books and avec thanks to the bitcoin wallet from Start2Coin. This marks a further expansion of the range of convenient services offered at Valora stores.
The bitcoin wallet from Start2Coin is a way for customers to buy bitcoins directly at the current daily price. This is different from the bitcoin vouchers that have been available from Valora since April 2021, where the money loaded online has to be converted into bitcoins first. The Start2Coin bitcoin wallet is a small plastic card with a memory chip. It costs CHF 29.90 and can be re-reused an unlimited number of times. Bitcoins worth up to CHF 1,000 can be loaded every 30 days per card, with a maximum of two transactions of CHF 500 each.
Start2Coin is backed by Sweepay AG, a financial intermediary based in Switzerland. Valora is currently rolling out this service step-by-step to around 950 k kiosk, Press & Books and avec sales outlets (excluding service station shops) in Switzerland.
NFC-enabled smartphone and app
Using the bitcoin wallet could not be easier: customers need an NFC-enabled smartphone and the app from software developer Tangem. They will then be able to pay and transfer bitcoins, which are saved in the app via the wallet topped up at the sales outlet. There is no need to register or provide any data.
The sale of bitcoin wallets is another new service offered by Valora at its retail outlets. The sales outlets of Valora Retail have increasingly evolved into service centres in the past few years, with the constant addition of new services such as renting umbrellas and Chimpy power banks charged with solar electricity as well as new payment and pick-up/drop-off options.