Traki, the largest department store chain in Venezuela, has announced that it will be installing blockchain-enabled cash registers in its 49 retail outlets.
“At Traki, we aspire to offer the most convenient options for our customers, and cryptocurrency has proven to be an effective payment solution,” said Michael Gomez, Chief of Traki’s Crypto Assets department.
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These stores are Massive! Great partnership with @PundiXLabs & @TRAKIenganchate for #Venezuela
Below vid is just 1 of 49 Traki stores Nationwide to use #Pundix
Point of sale devices – #XPOSI imagine it would require a few per store over time, judging by their size & demand pic.twitter.com/ofOjBIiyM9
— Superbit123 (@Superbit123) August 21, 2019
The cash registers will be manufactured by Pundi X, a Singapore-based startup company that creates blockchain-powered point-of-sale devices. Traki has chosen Pundi X’ XPOS device to act as an in-store payment processor for cryptocurrency.
“We made the XPOS with the mission of creating real-life use cases for blockchain technology, and this couldn’t be better represented than Traki shoppers paying for their daily needs with cryptocurrency,” said Pundi X CEO, Zac Cheah, to CoinDesk. One-tenth of Pundi X’ nearly 300,000 users are based in Venezuela.
Pundi X aims to sell 100,000 of its XPOS devices by 2021; at press time, the devices were available in 30 countries.
Venezuelans continue to rely on crypto
Cheah also pointed to Traki as an early adopter of blockchain technology in Venezuela. Additionally, Traki’s adoption of the Pundi X device is the latest piece of evidence that Venezuelans have adopted Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a popular alternative to the Bolivar, Venezuela’s fiat currency.
Indeed, a long spell of hyperinflation and a lack of liquidity in Bolivar markets has caused the currency to have severely devalued.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has attempted to create the Petro, a nationally-backed cryptocurrency, as a way to save the Venezuela economy. However, although Maduro ordered banks and state-owned companies to use the token in July, serious doubts about the project’s legitimacy remain.