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US retail giant Kroger no longer accepts Visa credit cards in its chain of Smith food and drug stores. Anthony Pompliano tweeted the offer to connect it to the Bitcoin Lightning Network nationwide.
Fee-a not accepted here
It all began Friday when Kroger announced its intention to no longer accept Visa credit cards, citing excessive fees. Smith's chain includes 134 food and drugstore stores in 7 states and employing 20,000 people.
Card fees charged by Visa are higher at Smith than any other credit card brand, said Mike Schlotman, CFO of Kroger:
Visa has abused its position and has been charging excessive fees to retailers for a long time.
In fact, Visa is expected to increase fees charged to banks processing card payments on behalf of merchants in April.
Pomp And Circumstance
In these circumstances, it seemed natural that someone else propose a crypto alternative, and Pompliano has shown up to it. "Who knows someone on the management team there?" Does he have tweeted.
The Morgan Creek Digital team will fly to meet them and connect them to the Lightning Network nationwide.
A few hours later, a Kroger Digital product manager tweeted an answer and set up a conversation.
Clearly, the Ripple Army has been diving into it, questioning the readiness of Lightning Network and suggesting the XRP as a better alternative. More interestingly, someone suggested selling Smith's gift cards on BitRefill, which would certainly be an effortless solution.
The summit of the iceberg
But it is a very big deal. Smith's is the second Kroger brand to no longer accept Visa credit cards after Foods Co. supermarkets in California. The successful implementation of a Lightning Network payment solution at the retailer could lead to a wider deployment of Kroger brands.
Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in terms of revenue and the third largest employer in the United States, as well as the third largest retailer in the world. As of December 2018, it operated 2,765 supermarkets and multi-department stores, either directly or through subsidiaries.
Armed with waves excepted, I'm sure Pompliano and Morgan Creek Digital have a high level of trust for this to work.
And Visa … you can only take it to yourself!
Will big retailers like Kroger accept Bitcoin and Lightning Network payments? Share your thoughts!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
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