Grupo Elektra Mexico Will Accept Payments In Bitcoin, There's A 20% Discount!

Grupo Elektra Mexico accepts payments in bitcoin. (photo: pixabay)

JAKARTA -Mexico Elektra Group will accept bitcoin as payment for its merchant purchases. They have become, the newest retailer in Latin America to accept the cryptocurrency business as it is becoming increasingly popular.

Elektra, the supermarket and banking network of conglomerate Grupo Salinas, is offering a 20% discount on purchases with bitcoin, according to an online ad shared on Twitter by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego.

"The rumors are true. Elektra is the first (retail) store in Mexico that allows you to buy with bitcoin," Salinas said in a tweet. "I'm very sorry to beat the competition again."

Cierto. 20% descuento promocional al pagar con #bitcoin en https://t.co/IOX4VLMpGv https://t.co/4jagJB2giZ

— Ricardo Salinas Pliego (@RicardoBSalinas) December 17, 2021

This purchase will be made through BitPay, a US-based bitcoin payment service provider. A spokesman for Grupo Salinas did not immediately comment from Reuters on this.

Salinas, one of Mexico's richest people, is the owner of banking business Banco Azteca, and said in June that he worked at the first bank in Mexico to accept bitcoin.

Bank of Mexico Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon, like several other central bankers, has warned against bitcoin as a high-risk investment and a poor store of value due to its volatility.

El Salvador made history this year as the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender, alongside the US dollar. Low-cost airline Volaris, based in Mexico, also followed suit, announcing it would accept bitcoin in El Salvador.