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- Bitcoin payment facility has been made available to the customers of AXA Switzerland to pay for all non-life products
- Bitcoin Suisse is charging a 1.75% fee to cover currency exchange and transaction costs
- AXA wants to “gather some experience” with bitcoins before embracing cryptocurrencies
The Switzerland-based unit of the leading insurer, AXA, will now accept Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for premiums. Announced Thursday, the all-new bitcoin payment facility has been made available to the customers of AXA Switzerland to pay for all non-life products.
Breaking the Insurer’s Stereotypes
For “regulatory reasons,” life insurance products do not support crypto payments, so AXA’s BTC inclusion was unexpected. Feeding the curious minds, Claudia Bienentreu, the head of open innovation at AXA Switzerland, replied that to support its customers and meet the “growing demands” for “alternative payment solutions,” AXA made this decision.
Crypto-availing Partnership
The insurance giant joined hands with Swiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse to avail the facility. AXA confirmed that even though it enabled crypto-payment, it will not hold any bitcoin on its balance sheet. The bitcoin payments will go straight to Bitcoin Suiss, where they’ll be converted to Swiss francs, which will then return to the underwriter. While AXA will not charge fees to customers opting for bitcoin payment, Bitcoin Suisse is exerting a 1.75% commission to cover currency exchange and transaction fee costs.
Exploring a new Territory
The insurance firm hinted it might include other payment options in the near future, like TWINT, a digital payment app for banking solutions in Switzerland. But it’s not yet ready to accept cryptocurrencies. The research from 2019 revealed one-third of AXA’s customers from the age range 18 to 55 either already owned or planned to own cryptocurrencies. So, grabbing the opportunity when it knocked, AXA decided to give it a go.
AXA is Open to Suggestions
The insurance provider wants to “gather some experience” with bitcoins first, stating embracing cryptocurrencies is not possible, at least not now. However, the firm is still open to new suggestions, whatever might interest its customers.
Mr. Pratik chadhokar is an Indian Forex, Cryptocurrencies and Financial Market Advisor and analyst with a background in IT and Financial market Strategist. He specialises in market strategies and technical analysis and has spent over a year as a financial markets contributor and observer. He possesses strong technical analytical skills and is well known for his entertaining and informative analysis of the Financial markets.
