Xapo, the company that provides bitcoin wallet solutions combined with a cold storage vault and bitcoin-based debit cards, has secured a partnership with Uber Argentina to allow the clients to use their bitcoin debit cards to process payments for transportation services.
The deal was unveiled with this Tweet.
Very few Argentinians have access to credit cards, and those who have access will find that their cards are not compatible with Uber’s platform. Xapo’s card will be compatible with Uber from now on. Anni Rautio expressed her satisfaction with the alliance, she told CoinDesk:
This is a win for all local Uber users and drivers, and for Uber as a company, as they are able to continue operations in Argentina through Xapo’s Debit Card. It’s also great news for bitcoin: it’s one step closer to seeing mainstream companies adopt bitcoin.
On the other hand, Taxi (Cab) drivers and authorities in Argentina have been very reticent to accept the entry of Uber into the ‘Taxi Industry’, and have organized several protests since Uber was introduced in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital.
This has been acknowledged by Uber officials, as they have faced strong resistance around the world. Uber argues it is not a transport company like taxi firms, and that it simply connects drivers with passengers. The Mayor of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, declared last month that Uber was an outlaw company and that his government was “trying to control all it can”.
One month later, Argentina’s national media outlet La Nacion said that a legal loophole enables Uber to operate inside national borders. Nowadays, several fleets of traditional taxi drivers are getting geared with better services in order to continue being the first choice in personal transportation. Smartphone apps, credit card payments, and discounts are the innovations that some of these companies are starting to implement.
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