The conversion from bitcoin to fiat currency will be possible through the broker Bitcoin Suisse. In the future, AXA will set an expansion for alternative payment methods. This expansion includes operations with ethers and other cryptocurrencies.
AXA, a multinational insurer based in France that works in more than 56 countries, announced on Thursday, April 15, that it offers the option to pay with bitcoins within AXA Switzerland. All private clients who use this insurer will be free to pay with bitcoin the products’ premiums, except those that have to do with life insurance.
According to the statement published by AXA on its official blog, this new form of payment represents the massive reception the use of cryptocurrencies is facing worldwide due to the COVID pandemic, thus satisfying the demand of its customers.
More than a Third Part of its Clients Using Bitcoin had Shown Interest in Cryptocurrency
The payments in bitcoin for AXA Switzerland have been active since the beginning of April. Customers will only have to have the reference number, the amount to be paid, and their bitcoin wallet on hand.
On the one hand, the option for now only appears for customers who receive their invoice by email, those who receive their invoice by post or by the insurer’s corporate application, called MyAXA, will be able to do so by acceding to the invoice payment platform. inapay.ch/axa from a computer or their mobile device.
The platform will convert bitcoin to Swiss francs while bringing a timer that shows the exchange rate at the transaction time. As they explain, this timer will last for a certain period so that customers feel safer about exchange rates and volatility. Later, the timer will update, showing a new exchange rate, and the countdown will begin again with this new amount.
The exchange of the cryptocurrency to Swiss francs will happen through the broker Bitcoin Suisse. While AXA won’t charge any commission for its insurance payments in bitcoin, the broker (when calculating the exchange rate) will add a 1.75% commission to cover the blockchain transaction, currency exchange, and other extra fees that could come to light.
According to the AXA statement, more payment options with other systems in Switzerland are coming soon. Among other usages is TWINT, a Swiss mobile payment alternative that brings users the opportunity to consolidate operations from one person to another and pay in online stores, supermarkets, restaurants, and vending machines.
While AXA now offers the option of paying your insurance premiums with bitcoin, paying with other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum will have to wait. The insurer first wants to gain experience with bitcoins before taking the following steps. The expansion of the service to other countries is also in plans.
AXA’s Been trying These Methods Before
According to the same statement, payments in bitcoin for the insurance premium are not the only blockchain tool that AXA manages. In 2017 the company joined efforts with Cardossier to generate a whole new platform that uses blockchain technology and tracks the life cycle of a car, seeking to make the automotive market more efficient.
By: Jenson Nuñez
