Fortaleza, the fifth-largest city in Brazil, will allow its residents to use bitcoin to pay for their transport tickets by the end of the year.
According to local newspaper O Pobo, Ceará Co-operative of Autonomous Passenger Transporters (COOTRAPS) will allow Fortaleza's residents to use the largest cryptocurrency by market cap to pay for public transport tickets. As a result, the residents in the city will now be able to buy their tickets with cash, debit or credit cards and BTC.
It looks like this decision has been made in an attempt to attract more users to the public transport network and to reduce bureaucracy.
Carlos Robério Sampaio, chief financial officer of Cootraps, said:
"This is an attempt to reduce bureaucracy by making the system easier for the user."
In order to be able to pay with bitcoin, users will have to use a mobile app to scan a QR code. Passengers will be able to pay autonomously with their smartphones, which means drivers will not be involved in the process.
Brazil is aware of the high importance of blockchain technology. For example, earlier this month we reported that the country had started to require all new diplomats to know about cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
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