Bitcoin payments come to largest Slovenian grocery store chain

Grocery shopping in Slovenia has taken a different direction, turning its attention to crypto.

Tuš, one of the biggest retailers in Slovenia, has opened its doors—14 of them, to be exact, —to Elipay, a mobile wallet that rewards users with crypto. Eligma, the startup behind the app, is offering its services at Tuš self-checkout cash registers, to make paying for things easier.

“We are happy that Elipay users now have the possibility of buying daily fresh fruit and vegetables, along with 20,000 other products,” the company said in a Medium post.

Spreading its wings

Tuš stores have thrived in Slovenia for 30 years and the move illustrates its ability to continually embrace innovative practices. But it is at least as significant for Elipay, whose crypto services have been rapidly expanding across Slovenia to more than 300 locations, ranging from bars, restaurants and retailers to entertainment venues.

And with the growth of Elipay in Slovenia—including a collaboration between Eligma and the BTC shopping and leisure center in what has become known as “Bitcoin City,” in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana—Elipay has also begun expanding to neighboring Croatia.

In May, Eligma announced that it had opened its first location in the Balkan country, at the five-star Navis Design Hotel. And the first transaction, performed in Bitcoin Cash, was done by none other than Roger Ver, advocate of the BCH movement.

That was hardly a coincidence: Ver’s website Bitcoin.com, is working in partnership with Eligma, so people prefer to use the Bitcoin.wallet, instead of Eilapy, can do that, too. And that potentially opens the door to millions of new customers.