Mexican financial and retailing corporation, Grupo Elektra will accept Bitcoin as payment for purchases, the latest retailer in Latin America to embrace the cryptocurrency as it grows in popularity.
Elektra, a supermarket and banking chain
that belongs to conglomerate Grupo Salinas, is offering a 20% discount on
purchases with Bitcoin, according to an online ad shared on Twitter by Mexican
billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego.
"The rumours are true. Elektra is the
first (retail) store in Mexico that allows you to buy with Bitcoin,"
Salinas said in a tweet. "I'm very sorry to beat the competition
again."
Purchases will go through BitPay, a
US-based Bitcoin payment service provider.
A spokesperson for Grupo Salinas had no
immediate comment.
Salinas, one of Mexico's richest people, is
the owner of the Banco Azteca banking business, and in June said he was working
to get the first bank in Mexico to accept Bitcoin.
Bank of Mexico Governor Alejandro Diaz de
Leon, like some other central bankers, has warned against Bitcoin as a
high-risk investment and poor store of value due to its volatility.
El Salvador made history this year as the
first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, alongside the US dollar.
Low-cost airline Volaris, based in Mexico, followed suit, announcing it would
accept Bitcoin in El Salvador. © Reuters