Australians and New Zealanders Can Now Use Bitcoin in Vending Machines

Written by: FIMA Plus

Vending machines operated by the leading Asia-Pacific soft drink bottler and distributor Coca-Cola Amatil will now accept cryptocurrency payments.

The development follows a new agreement with the digital asset platform Centrapay announced on Monday.

The Coca-Cola Amatil vending network, which has over 2000 machines in Australia and New Zealand, will allow consumers to spend their cryptocurrencies by scanning QR code labels with their smartphones, but they must have the Sylo Smart Wallet installed.

The Sylo Smart Wallet is a decentralized application that supports Bitcoin (BTC) and all ERC-20 tokens.

Post-Pandemic Cashless Payments on the Rise in Retail

Centrapay’s director Jerome Faury pointed to a greater awareness of the need to reduce physical contact in retail locations due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

The agreement with Coca-Cola Amatil – one of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers, serving 270 million consumers – was presented as the first step in facilitating global access to cryptocurrencies.

– We have now demonstrated how this works in Australia and New Zealand, but we want to increase business growth on a global scale. We have established a presence in North America, and we will further target the U.S. market – said Faury.

Centrapay focuses on addressing barriers to the adoption of Web 3.0 technologies – particularly digital assets and digital identity services – which are attributed to "integration complexity" and "poor user experience".

Not the First Time Coca-Cola Partners Have Turned to Blockchain

While Centrapay and Coca-Cola Amatil are just focusing on consumers and merchants, other Coca-Cola bottlers have already adopted blockchain technology in the supply chain.

In November 2019, Coke One North America – the company that manages IT operations in the bottling plants of this giant known for its soft drinks – began using a blockchain solution developed by the German software company SAP to manage the supply chain.

The company oversees multiple franchises that produce, bottle, and deliver nearly 160,000 Coca-Cola product orders daily.

{embed_digitalno_izdanje}{/embed_digitalno_izdanje}