OREANDA-NEWS. Ukraine’s biggest bank PrivatBank launched a service for cryptocurrency payments. The first company to integrate this new service is online store Allo.

“We keep up with the times, and offer our clients convenient and innovative services, including those financial. As of December 14 in cooperation with our partners from PrivatBank we launch a new service of bitcoin payments. Development of financial services is a part of our multi-channel retailing strategy, and we try to meet our customer’s expectations,” says Maxim Raskin, CEO at Allo.

The news follows the announcement from PrivatBank, which stated its intent to work with bitcoin. According to the bank, bitcoin acquiring will be the first of cryptocurrency and blockchain based services to be launched.

“Alongside with Allo we became bitcoin pioneers in Ukraine. In a short while the service will be available for all Ukrainian and Eurpoean businesses,” says Alexander Vitiaz, deputy chairman at PrivatBank. He added: “As of December 20 the service will automatically activate for all commercial customers of PrivatBank. In order to accept bitcoins, online stores will not have to do anything in addition or open a bitcoin wallet. The payment will be effected to a merchant’s operative account in hryvnias, thus it makes no difference to them whether it is a bitcoin payment or not.”

Earlier the National Bank of Ukraine announced it conceded integration of bitcoin in Ukraine’s financial system in the near future.