Australians Can Now Buy Coca Cola With Bitcoin From Vending Machines

Coca Cola Amatil and digital asset integrator Centrapay have teamed to enable Australians and New Zealanders to buy Coca Cola with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from more than 2,000 vending machines.

Promoting Mass Adoption Of Bitcoin

According to a press release on Tuesday, Amatil’s customers now have Bitcoin and other digital assets as a payment option in their Sylo Smart Wallet, which they can use at any of the 2,000+ vending machines installed across Australia and New Zealand. The release did not include some of the other cryptocurrencies that are supported in the wallet.

Coca Cola Amatil is the largest bottler and distributor in the Asia Pacific. The firm currently supports 140 brands and has an estimated 270 million consumers, which will undoubtedly give bitcoin and cryptocurrencies more exposure.

Centrapay, on the other hand, is a digital asset platform that helps consumers and merchants exchange value daily through the use of cryptocurrencies.

According to Jerome Faury, Centrapay CEO, poor user experiences and complexities with integration are barriers to the adoption of cryptocurrencies and web 3 technologies.

“We have solved both these issues. Centrapay is pioneering the way to enable this new internet of value and bring its benefits to both consumers and merchants,” he added.

Using Cryptocurrencies Against COVID-19

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has seemingly created an excellent opportunity for cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange since they promote contactless payments suggested by WHO.

The integration of cryptocurrencies into the Sylo Smart Wallet ensures that customers only have to scan a QR code payment stick on the vending machines through their phone’s camera (as long as Sylo Smart Wallet is installed). This significantly reduces the number of times people need to touch the vending machine to just once whenever they want to make a purchase.

The firms believe that the move will help curtail the spread of the coronavirus that continues to plague countries across the world, with 6.93M confirmed cases and more than 400k deaths.

Since the use of cryptocurrencies helps to reduce physical contact with the vending machines, the integration helps to address hygiene concerns surrounding the spread of the virus.

“And it comes with the added benefit of reducing physical contact and addressing the hygiene concerns we’ve all become acutely aware of due to COVID-19.” – Faury said.