Birks Group, one of the largest manufacturers of jewelry and watches in Canada, entered into a partnership agreement with BitPay and began to accept bitcoin for payment, as reported in the company's blog. BitPay representatives believe that accepting bitcoin will help Birks Group to satisfy the needs of wealthy foreign customers and attract new customers.
Currently, BTC purchases are available in eight out of the 26 stores located in Canada. According to Birks, users can purchase products from brands like Rolex, Bvlgari, Cartier and Breitling for bitcoin. In the near future, the Graff and Patek Philippe brands, which are available at the newly opened stores in Vancouver, will be added to this list.
Founded in Montreal in 1879, the Birks Group company became the first major player among luxury goods manufacturers in Canada to accept cryptocurrencies for payment. The jewelry house has a very large customer base around the world and the introduction of a new payment method will allow the company to work successfully with international clients.
However, in general, blocs and cryptocurrencies have already begun to penetrate into the jewelry industry. Earlier, APMEX, the world's largest online retailer of precious metals, began accepting bitcoins as a payment. With the help of cryptocurrency, users can buy bars and coins of gold, silver, palladium and platinum. This option has also been implemented using BitPay.
Customers in the jewelry industry like to use bitcoin and they themselves asked to add this method of payment, representatives of APMEX explained. They also expressed confidence that bitcoin support improves the quality of service.
BitPay in this case took over the solution to the problem of volatility. Service representatives said that APMEX will receive daily payments in U.S. dollars for all received bitcoin payments. Virtual currency eliminates the risk of credit card fraud or refunds, which often becomes a headache for buyers and sellers in the world of precious metals, BitPay representatives added.
Also at the beginning of the year, it became known that the blockchain alliance IBM will track jewelry from mines to shop windows. The TrustChain Alliance brings together suppliers with manufacturers and retailers so that users can be sure of the origin, such as the stone in the ring or earrings.
Through the creation of the IBM alliance, the Helzberg retailer, as well as the companies that extract and process precious stones, can track the origins and movement of the supply chain of precious stones and metals, as well as products from them. In turn, users simply with the help of a smartphone will be able to accurately determine the origin of the purchased products, which are sold in Helzberg Diamonds stores.
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