Pharmacies in Ukraine are embracing digital payments amid the ongoing war, with a major local pharmacy chain allowing payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).
ANC Pharmacy, one of the largest pharmacy chains in Ukraine, has partnered with Binance Ukraine to debut cryptocurrency payments through the contactless cryptocurrency payment service Binance Pay.
As of January 3, ANC Pharmacy enabled its customers to proceed with instant payments while purchasing pharmacy products onlinethe drugstore chain officially announced on Tuesday.
ANC Pharmacy operates more than 1,000 pharmacies throughout Ukraine, running its own online pharmacy service. According to an official statement, Binance Pay payments will initially be rolled out to pharmacies in kyiv.
The new payment feature will be available at ANC pharmacies as well as pharmacies operated by ANC Pharmacy such as Kopiyka and Shara. “ANC, Kopiyka and Shara are the first pharmacies in Europe to accept cryptocurrencies,” the official announcement states.
To proceed with a crypto payment at ANC pharmacies, users have to download the Binance app and then go to the ANC.ua website.. After choosing a product to order online, users will be able to pay using the Binance Pay service and pick up the order at a preferred pharmacy.
A Binance Ukraine spokesperson did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Binance has been actively boosting its presence in Ukraine in recent years. In September 2022, Binance has also partnered with the Ukrainian supermarket chain Varus, allowing customers to pay for grocery purchases through their Binance Pay wallet.
In early February 2022 — or weeks before Russian forces invaded Ukraine — Binance Ukraine CEO Kirill Khomyakov told Cointelegraph that launching a Binance Card in Ukraine was one of Binance’s top priorities for 2022.
According to Khomyakov, crypto payments through services like Binance Card do not conflict with Ukrainian laws because there is no ban on cryptocurrency derivative transactions in Ukraine. At the same time, local laws do not allow direct payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
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