Venezuelan international airport introduces crypto payments for ticketing
One of the biggest airports in Venezuela has reportedly announced its preparation to start accepting cryptocurrencies as payments for ticketing and other services.
According to a regional news agency El Siglo’s report, the Venezuelan Simón Bolívar International Airport has been working to enable crypto payments so that they can make the payment gateways in compliance with local industry standards.
The airport, located in downtown Caracas is also known as Maiquetia. The airport director, Freddy Borges, has shared that it has proposed accepting many cryptocurrencies, including Dash and Bitcoin. This would be in addition to the country’s oil-pegged digital currency, the Petro. Petro is an oil-backed cryptocurrency launched by the Venezuelan government in February 2018.
Borges has said that the airport’s administration is slated to introduce the new crypto payments option in collaboration with the National Superintendence of Crypto Assets and Related Activities of Venezuela.
The inauguration of crypto payments at the Venezuelan airport marks a huge milestone for the company’s commitment towards advancing international standards and driving digital currency adoption.
Borges also said that the new digital payments option would benefit international tourists, especially those from Russia. He added that it is the need of the hour to advance in upcoming economic and technological systems in order “to be accessible.”
The news has been announced in convergence with the country’s experiment with a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with Venezuela’s central bank launch of the digital Venezuelan bolivar on October 1.
Apart from the Venezuelan government, several others across the globe have been exploring propositions of introducing crypto payments and blockchain-based functionalities in the last few years.
International airports are also improvising their payment options and working on customer verification services, including COVID-19 test results.
In March 2021, the Latvian airline airBaltic had started accepting Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) for ticket payments following its rollout of crypto payments back in 2014.
