Mexican retail giant elektra has started accepting payments in cryptocurrencies for its retail outlets all over Latin America, making it the first Mexican retailer to do so.
According to its official website, users can avail of a 20% discount on products when purchased with bitcoins or any other cryptocurrencies by the end of this month. Elektra realized this offering in partnership with the US-based payments processor BitPay.
Los rumores son ciertos 😎, @ElektraMx es la 1er tienda (de retail) en México 🇲🇽 que permite comprar con #Bitcoin.
Siento mucho volver a ganarle a la competencia 😂😜😎. https://t.co/1Lm9cbfGeL
— Ricardo Salinas Pliego (@RicardoBSalinas) December 16, 2021
To deal with volatility, the Mexican retailer maintained that any return or cancellation request after making the payment in Bitcoin will lead to refunds returned in Mexican pesos. In addition, the announcement noted:
“The user accepts and recognizes that the access, use, and security of his wallet is the sole responsibility of the user and at no time is Elektra, nor will be, responsible for the access, use, and security of the user’s wallet.”
Founded in 1950, elektra is a financial and retailing corporation that operates more than 7,000 retail stores in Latin America.
The central bank of Mexico, Banco de México, recently noted that Mexican financial institutions are not allowed to provide cryptocurrency-related services without permission. However, since elektra is a retail outlet and BitPay is in charge of settlements, it is likely elektra did not violate any policies established.