Major Romanian e-payment platform integrates local crypto coin eGold

Some 30,000 Romanian retailers that use the local e-payment platform Netopia can technically accept the Romanian crypto coin eGold as a means of payment after the e-payment platform signed an agreement with the company that operates the coin (Elrond).

A fair test to see the public acceptance of such a volatile payment means will be the share of the 30,000 retailers that will accept the coin.

The value of eGold dropped from USD 202 on February 9 to USD 110 on February 23, after an outstanding rally from USD 8 last November.

"Over 100,000 Romanians have downloaded the [e-wallet] Maiar application, and most of them already own eGold. Both they and other members of the Elrond ecosystem will benefit from the processing times and low costs of blockchain technology in everyday life. Integration with Netopia is an important first step towards creating a global payment network that uses Elrond technology," said Beniamin Mincu, CEO of Elrond.

In the first phase, the integration will allow payment with eGold at online stores.

The more than 30,000 merchants enrolled in the Netopia system will be able to accept eGold as a payment method. Netopia is a Romanian company founded in 2003 to streamline payments through technology.

The company is the digital payments leader in Romania, with a market share exceeding 70%, and includes customers such as Carrefour, Tarom, and Selgros.

(Photo: Iurii Motov/ Dreamstime)