Swiss payments system aims to link bitcoin and retailers

Prominent European payment infrastructure provider Worldline has teamed up with financial services firm Bitcoin Suisse to allow cryptocurrency enthusiasts to spend their bitcoin in Swiss shops. Worldline last year took over SIX Payment Services, the former arm of the Swiss stock exchange group that provides payment card terminals in 85,000 Swiss retail outlets. The French company now wants to hook this infrastructure up with cryptocurrencies. It has signed a letter of intent with Swiss crypto company Bitcoin Suisse, which will act as a go-between, converting bitcoin into Swiss francs that will be used to pay for goods and services in Switzerland. The partnership is still at an early stage with a pilot project planned for 2020. Once it finally goes live, at a date that has yet to be determined, it remains to be seen how many merchants will sign on. If successful, Worldline says it will roll the service out to other European countries. Ambitious The Worldline/Bitcoin Suisse deal ...