Benzinga | Nov 5, 2021 09:40AM EDT

Kroger To Accept Bitcoin Cash This Holiday Season

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) America's largest grocery retailer, announced today that it will begin accepting Bitcoin Cash. Starting December 1, 2021, the entire Kroger Family of Stores will accept Bitcoin Cash for all in-store and online purchases.

"At Kroger, we're dedicated to providing our customers with the best shopping experience possible. Throughout the pandemic, cashless payments have been thriving, and we see cryptocurrency as a natural progression of the trend to deal less with physical money," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "Integrating Bitcoin Cash into our payment platforms lets us do just that--now and in the years to come."

Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency created by a fork of the original bitcoin blockchain. During the separation, Bitcoin Cash introduced features such as bigger blocks that set it apart. In practice, this has led to Bitcoin Cash transactions being significantly cheaper than Bitcoin transactions, with costs often remaining under one penny even for considerable amounts.

The development of Bitcoin Cash is driven, among others, by Bitcoin.com, a company providing various products to use cryptocurrencies more readily in daily life.

According to the Bitcoin.com Map, thousands of stores worldwide already accept Bitcoin Cash and other cryptocurrencies; and Kroger could add hundreds within months. For customers, the check-out experience will just change slightly. Instead of using their card or cash, they will be able to scan a QR code provided by the merchant that'll automatically charge them the amount at the current exchange rate in Bitcoin Cash.

Kroger has made major changes in recent years to its payment options. In 2018, it ceased accepting Visa credit cards as a form of payment, citing high point-of-sale fees. The ban was reversed a year later, after Kroger and Visa negotiated new terms. In late 2020, Kroger announced its first major cryptocurrency initiative. Users of Lolli, a cryptocurrency-based rewards platform with more than 1,000 retail partners, can now earn Bitcoin as a reward on purchases made at Kroger.

Bitcoin Cash can be used nationwide at more than 2,700 Kroger Family of Stores, including Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Fred Meyer, QFC, and other leading retailers.

For the time being, Kroger plans to exchange the cryptocurrency for stable currencies close to the point of receipt but doesn't rule out the possibility of eventually keeping a percentage of it on its balance sheet.