Zermatt, a municipality in Switzerland and popular tourist resort, in cooperation with Bitcoin Suisse; announced today that it will accept bitcoin (BTC) as a means of payment. This applies to taxes and official transactions with immediate effect.
Bitcoin Suisse has installed a point-of-sale (POS) solution in the Zermatt town hall so fees for services from local authorities can be paid in bitcoin. In addition to having access to a POS device in the Zermatt town hall, taxpayers will also be able to pay their taxes at a communal level using bitcoin.
Zug-based Bitcoin Suisse is the oldest and largest crypto financial services company in Switzerland.
After applying directly to the Zermatt Tax Office for a crypto payment solution, taxpayers will be able to access the online payment portal via email link and transfer bitcoins directly from their own crypto wallet. Next, Bitcoin Suisse exchanges the bitcoins into Swiss francs and transfers the amount in CHF to the municipality’s bank account.
Switzerland
In 2016, Zug became the first city in Switzerland to accept bitcoin payments, now Zermatt has followed. This combined push at both the local and national level demonstrates the collaboration between the public and private sectors in the expanding Swiss crypto industry.
“By accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment, Zermatt finds itself once more among the pioneers and supporting a growing ecosystem of cryptocurrencies.”
– Armin Schmid, Head Crypto Payments of Bitcoin Suisse