Argentinean payment platform brings Bitcoin to mass transit

Seven million commuters in cities across Argentina may soon be able to top up their SUBE public transport cards using Bitcoin, thanks to a partnership between online card payment platform Alto Viaje and fintech start-up Bitex.

Through the partnership, Bitex has announced that it will be providing the API integration necessary for Alto Viaje to be able to receive Bitcoin payments. Alto Viaje already accepts transactions made using Paypal and Rapipago.

“[Our] work is part of a broader strategy to bring bitcoin to the masses through specific and common uses like paying for your commute,” Manuel Beaudroit, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitex, told Cities Today. “We [will be] working to connect to as many [points of sale] as possible in the next few months.”

The partnership between Alto Viaje and Bitex comes at a time of sustained interest in cryptocurrency in cities across the Latin American country, as stifling interest rates and soaring inflation continue to raise concerns about the impact of austerity measures on living costs—among them, rising transport fares.

Luciano Verardo, Director of Alto Viaje, said his company wants to “integrate payment with bitcoins and [create] new possibilities [for] financial inclusion for people and companies”.

Reports in local media have also hinted that the SUBE platform could be integrated with the Rapipago network, which is designed to enable payments for utilities bills, private services, and taxes.

SUBE cards can be purchased at major transit hubs and are currently used to pay for services provided by bus, train, subway, and motorboat operators in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area and other cities, including Bahía Blanca, Corrientes, Paraná, and Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz.

The main technology provider behind the card is Argentina’s Nacion Servicios S.A., a subsidiary of Banco de la Nación Argentina, the country’s national bank.