Insurance giant AXA starts accepting Bitcoin payments
AXA Switzerland announced on Thursday that customers could now pay their premiums in Bitcoin.
The insurance giant disclosed in an official blog that the Bitcoin payment option will be available for all its non-life products. According to them, the offering cannot be extended to life insurance products for “regulatory reasons.”
AXA believes that the move represents “an investment in the company's digital future in response to growing customer demand for more choice when it comes to payments.” A survey conducted by the company in late 2019 revealed that a third of respondent either owned cryptocurrencies or were interested in them.
Commenting on the latest development, Claudia Bienentreu, head of open innovation at AXA Switzerland said:
This is AXA's response to growing demand from its customers for alternative payment solutions, with new technologies playing an ever-greater role.
It is worth clarifying that AXA will not be holding any Bitcoin on its balance sheet. The initiative is being made possible through a partnership with Swiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse. As a result, all Bitcoin payments will be forwarded to the crypto broker, who then converts them into Swiss francs for AXA. Furthermore, although AXA does not charge any fee for the payment option, Bitcoin Suisse charges a 1.75% commission to cover transaction fees.
Two days ago, America's oldest wine shop Acker began accepting Bitcoin payments. The number of traditional companies jumping on the trend of accepting payments in Bitcoin has continued to increase.
