Country Focus

Cielo unveils support for crypto in Brazil

Cielo – one of Brazil’s largest credit and debit card operators and the country’s leading card machine point-of-sale (POS) provider – now facilitates payments with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The company, which boasts more than 1.4 million points-of-sale in over 5,000 municipalities in all regions of the country, announced the news during the recent Blockmaster Forum in Sao Paulo.

Cielo integrates crypto

The idea behind the system is that shopkeepers can enter the amount they want to receive on their payment terminal and a QR code is generated by the system. The customer can then scan this code using the Uzzo application or Criptohub on their smartphone and make the payment.

Thiago Lucena, CEO of Uzzo, said during the unveiling:

“Uzzo is a fintech with the mission of making financial services increasingly easy and accessible to our customers. The partnership with Cielo is very important, as customers can make their purchases with the Uzzo app, which is a great evolution in the user experience.”

By using third-party fintech companies, Cielo gives retailers the option to accept crypto and receive reais instead. In essence, the middleman converts the crypto into reais after the sale has taken place, allowing shopkeepers to retain the national currency for ease of use.

Mobile payments are taking off

Starting in October this year, CieloPay sites may even accept crypto payments without the need of a POS machine. The QR code for payments will be generated by a Cielo application directly on the user’s smartphone, which will then have to be scanned to make the payment.

The QR codes can even be used for remote payments and through applications such as WhatsApp, online stores, and more.

With these advancements, it’s not unreasonable to expect more Brazilians joining the crypto space this year. Even if hodlers do not want to spend their crypto, it’s a great option for anyone who is a trader, miner, or an active participant in the cryptosphere.

By creating more options not only to buy but now to spend crypto as well, Cielo is giving Bitcoiners another way to convert their coins into everyday products.

Pedro Febrero

Pedro Febrero is a technologist with hands-on blockchain experience. He's the founder of Bityond, a skills-matching platform between candidates and jobs, a Blockchain Consultant for multiple projects and an Op-Ed writer for ccn.com.