Chipotle now accepts crypto payments (only in US stores for now)

[Rikafip]

As the title says, one of the more popular fast food chains in the United States started accepting bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies). One may say that it's not a real deal as they will do it via 3rd party service (in this case Flexa) but its a good news nevertheless and a step in right direction. Expecting that these big chains accepts bitcoin directly is kinda naive, but the way things are developing I don't think that its out of the question in the relatively near future. After all, who would have thought 10 years ago that bitcoin would be in situation like this?

Chipotle, the popular Mexican-style fast-food restaurant chain, will now accept cryptocurrency payments through Flexa, a digital payments platform.  

Flexa supports around 98 currencies, including BTC and ETH. Customers can use the app to pay for food items in any of the nearly 3000 Chipotle restaurants in the United States.

[stompix]

One may say that it's not a real deal as they will do it via 3rd party service (in this case Flexa) but its a good mews nevertheless and a step in right direction.

We should stop dreaming for a few years of real p2p on-chain transactions between merchants and customers, I really think that this will start growing more and more like the current visa/mastercard payment system but still, there is one small tiny thing I don't like in this, unlike paying through Bitpay for example, the 3rd party requirement is on the customer side..

To pay with Flexa, customers will need to download Gemini or SPEDN app, both of which store digital assets. Customers can then use the app and tap it in-store to make a payment.

So I need to have a wallet for this, if KFC will have a partnership with XYZ I would need another wallet?  , hope not!

Anyhow, excluding the obvious inconvenience if you're not a fan of this wallet, this is a big one, with over 2k stores, 5 billion in revenue, and millions of customers! If they add some kind of promo days for it we could finally have some real usage that will drive others to copy the move.
Of course, it could have been better but during these bearish days, this is as good as one could hope for.

[P2PECS]

I imagine that since payment has to be made through Gemini or SPEDN app all payments will be KYC controlled. I don't know, it always sounds like good news that you can pay in BTC in more places but if so it doesn't seem so good to me.

I don't know how the issue will be when it comes to declaring either, as paying for sandwiches with biticoin or other cryptocurrencies will create taxable events.

We should stop dreaming for a few years of real p2p on-chain transactions between merchants and customers,

You are probably right.

[Accardo]

After all, who would have thought 10 years ago that bitcoin would be in situation like this?

I see history repeating itself, 10 years ago nobody dreamt that 10,000bitcoin will be at about $299million today. And such a huge amount was used to purchase food. Nobody, knows what future Bitcoin holds 10 years from now! The little amount of Bitcoin used to buy a meal today can be worth a huge amount of money 10 years later as bitcoin can be broken down into satoshi.

What I'm I saying in essence? The fast food chains that accepts bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies today are said to be taking a huge risk but, on the long term I don't see any risk attached to it. A friend said on his comment about accepting bitcoin, that it'll affect the price of products and they'll keep changing their prices as Bitcoin price fluctuates.

I don't think this case is attached to using bitcoin to buy perishables because Bitcoin don't perish so any amount of bitcoin used to purchase food is helpful to the fast food chain on the long run and I see it as a reason why many of them are taking this step as a means or investing their food into bitcoin regardless of the volatility.

[Lucius]

I don't know how the issue will be when it comes to declaring either, as paying for sandwiches with biticoin or other cryptocurrencies will create taxable events.

That’s exactly what I thought about when I read the news, because if something hasn’t changed about how the IRS views crypto transactions, then most U.S. citizens certainly won’t be encouraged to pay this way. The question also arises as to how much Bitcoin will be represented in payments given the fact that as many as 98 cryptocurrencies are available - and for many most of us who are mostly focused on Bitcoin have not even heard of it.

See the list and see for yourself, and my personal favorite is of course the first space currency available on planet Earth (soon on Mars)


Source

[Upgrade00]

What I'm I saying in essence? The fast food chains that accepts bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies today are said to be taking a huge risk but, on the long term I don't see any risk attached to it. A friend said on his comment about accepting bitcoin, that it'll affect the price of products and they'll keep changing their prices as Bitcoin price fluctuates.

If they use a payment processor, they really bear no risk as they are not holding Bitcoin in their cash flow, it's all being converted to fiat immediately. This also means they do not have to change their prices. If a product is $10, it would be displayed for that amount. Anyone who wishes to pay in BTC would be paying $10 worth of Bitcoin regardless of how much Bitcoin happens to be at the time.

I don't think this case is attached to using bitcoin to buy perishables because Bitcoin don't perish so any amount of bitcoin used to purchase food is helpful to the fast food chain on the long run and I see it as a reason why many of them are taking this step as a means or investing their food into bitcoin regardless of the volatility.

Again, they are not investing in Bitcoin, just profiting from the Bitcoin and crypto community to get more traffic and backlinks.

[yazher]

This is actually a good move and despite they being the first to do it in the US, they are giving some free promotions for bitcoins and it is a big one. Hope it will be a blockbuster for the bitcoins users out there. If I'm residing out there, I'm gonna try it and post my rating here. Usually, people will be curious about how it works so they will gonna try it and make content out of it. Let's just hope it will get some good honest reviews from the people, so that they can allow their other branches outside the US to accept crypto payments as well.

[Wexnident]

One may say that it's not a real deal as they will do it via 3rd party service (in this case Flexa) but its a good news nevertheless and a step in right direction.

I reckon most businesses who would start accepting Bitcoin would always start using 3rd party services. I don't think they'd ever get the mindset to provide a system themselves when third-party services exist, not to mention that it would only incur more(probably) on their side if they were ever to provide their own.

I imagine that since payment has to be made through Gemini or SPEDN app all payments will be KYC controlled. I don't know, it always sounds like good news that you can pay in BTC in more places but if so it doesn't seem so good to me.

KYC will always follow payments via businesses imo. That isn't going to disappear anytime soon even if businesses accommodate payments with crypto.

[DaveF]

One may say that it's not a real deal as they will do it via 3rd party service (in this case Flexa) but its a good mews nevertheless and a step in right direction.

We should stop dreaming for a few years of real p2p on-chain transactions between merchants and customers, I really think that this will start growing more and more like the current visa/mastercard payment system but still, there is one small tiny thing I don't like in this, unlike paying through Bitpay for example, the 3rd party requirement is on the customer side..

To pay with Flexa, customers will need to download Gemini or SPEDN app, both of which store digital assets. Customers can then use the app and tap it in-store to make a payment.

So I need to have a wallet for this, if KFC will have a partnership with XYZ I would need another wallet?  , hope not!

Anyhow, excluding the obvious inconvenience if you're not a fan of this wallet, this is a big one, with over 2k stores, 5 billion in revenue, and millions of customers! If they add some kind of promo days for it we could finally have some real usage that will drive others to copy the move.
Of course, it could have been better but during these bearish days, this is as good as one could hope for.

I imagine that since payment has to be made through Gemini or SPEDN app all payments will be KYC controlled. I don't know, it always sounds like good news that you can pay in BTC in more places but if so it doesn't seem so good to me.

It needs one of these apps since you don't have to wait for confirms or anything like that. Kind of like Cashapp / block with crypto payments. It's keeping it all in their bubble.
Not perfect, but it's a start. Yes you have lightning and other options but this has to be painless and simple for the users and give the workers a simple interface. Let's face it, it's fast food you don't want to have people standing waiting for my lightning node to try to find the best route to the chipolte node. 

As of now, Flexa has not asked me for any KYC info. Name, email and age / DoB which would be needed for any financial app.

-Dave

[mk4]

What I'm I saying in essence? The fast food chains that accepts bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies today are said to be taking a huge risk but, on the long term I don't see any risk attached to it. A friend said on his comment about accepting bitcoin, that it'll affect the price of products and they'll keep changing their prices as Bitcoin price fluctuates.

The prices(in crypto) will surely fluctuate by the minute but the prices(in crypto) will also adjust every time the business' point-of-sale software would do a payment request. It's not like they'd calculate manually how much BTC a customer needs to pay every few minutes.

[Gyfts]

One may say that it's not a real deal as they will do it via 3rd party service (in this case Flexa) but its a good news nevertheless and a step in right direction. Expecting that these big chains accepts bitcoin directly is kinda naive

I don't see this as an issue. If online commerce platforms want to use 3rd party providers to facilitate their Bitcoin transactions, then so be it. They're still allowing users an option to pay with crypto. We're a long while off from mainstream adoption to the point of major businesses accepting crypto themselves and housing the infrastructure to do so on their platforms. It's a whole lot easier to outsource it to a 3rd party provider and let the consumers decide if they elect to use it.

[ChiBitCTy]

There is a reason that Chipotle has done sell well as a company.  This is great news for bitcoin. Chipotle has seemingly been quite fond of bitcoin..in case you missed it..

"NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 30, 2021 /PRNEWSWIRE/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced it will give away $100,000 in free burritos and $100,000 in Bitcoin to celebrate National Burrito Day on April 1. This occasion makes Chipotle the first U.S. restaurant brand to offer a cryptocurrency giveaway to consumers.

A Redemption Story
On National Burrito Day, Chipotle and Stefan Thomas, the Founder and CEO of Coil, will launch a new interactive game called "Burritos or Bitcoin." In a playful ode to Thomas's experience losing the login to his hard drive that stored $387 million in Bitcoin, Chipotle is encouraging fans to carry out a mock "chiptocurrency" rescue mission and crack the code on its digital wallet.

Chipotle Burritos or Bitcoin
VIEW FILE DOWNLOAD FILE
Chipotle Burritos or Bitcoin
How It Works
Each player will have ten (10) tries to guess a valid six-digit code for a chance to win a free burrito or up to $25,000 in Bitcoin. If players are unsuccessful in their ten attempts and endure the same fate as Thomas, they may be surprised and delighted with a special offer from Chipotle.

The contest officially goes live on April 1 at 9:00am PT and ends at 6:00pm PT that same day. Fans can play "Burritos or Bitcoin" by visiting: BURRITOSORBITCOIN.COM.

ROI
Here is the full breakdown for prizing:

10,000 fans will win one (1) free burrito
50 fans will win $500 in Bitcoin
3 fans will win $25,000 in Bitcoin
"National Burrito Day is a huge moment for Chipotle as our fans traditionally flock to our restaurants and digital platforms to order their favorites," said Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer. "We're always looking for unique ways to enhance the celebration, and this year, we're giving fans the opportunity to acquire two highly valuable assets: Burritos or Bitcoin." - https://newsroom.chipotle.com/2021-03-30-Burritos-Or-Bitcoin-Chipotle-To-Give-Away-200k-In-Free-Burritos-And-Bitcoin-To-Celebrate-National-Burrito-Day

[naira]

why not, Bitcoin growth stream is already very popular and better known in the public eye. That way when a fast food company out there provides payment with bitcoin, I won't be surprised. This proves that open companies, small and large, recognize Bitcoin as an alternative that they must implement as a counterbalance to technological sophistication. The payment revolution in the future is certainly owned by Bitcoin.

[Rikafip]

We should stop dreaming for a few years of real p2p on-chain transactions between merchants and customers,

Yep, I think that we are still not there yet and I will gladly take a 2nd best thing, using 3rd party service to spend my crypto. Just 3-4 years ago that was much harder to do, unless you wanted to pay using one of those debit cards with very high fees so who knows what will happen in the next 3-4 years.

If they add some kind of promo days for it we could finally have some real usage that will drive others to copy the move.

As a matter of fact they do have promo but it's nothing special, only 10% off during promotion period.

To celebrate Chipotle’s newly launched support for digital currency payments, we’re giving everyone 10% off their next purchase at Chipotle when using any digital currency in a Flexa-enabled app

I don't see this as an issue. If online commerce platforms want to use 3rd party providers to facilitate their Bitcoin transactions, then so be it.

Me neither, but I heard so many people complaining over that, saying stuff like "why businesses don't want to accept bitcoin directly, are they stupid" while in reality they never own any business and had that kind of responsibility. Talk is cheap.

[DaveF]

Well, lets start with the important part 10% off:



1st thing to know it's 1 way only there is no way to withdraw crypto from the app.
It pops up a message before it gives you a deposit address that you can't withdraw.

Sent some crypto (LTC) to it and it showed the value of it.
Went ordered some burrito bowls and it scans at the register as a gift card.

Money comes off the Flexa app and dinner is eaten.
No muss no fuss.

Personally if it was not for the 10% I would rather use bitrefill and get a gift card but that's just me.
Now I have enter the receipt info into the chipolte app instead of just getting my points that way.

Also have to figure out what else is around here that I can finish spending the funds on.

-Dave

[P2PECS]

Well, then, I agree that all steps in this direction are positive. The ideal would be without going through those centralised Apps that don't let you withdraw, but I don't see, as some of you have said, that this is going to happen. I suppose that in order to compete with Visa and Mastercard it will be done with apps like these.

And I imagine that if there is no KYC now, it will be just a matter of time.

[Uang_kartal]

After a while, there is a coffee shop that accepts btc payments, other business sectors even for charities and other practitioners. I support it well.

for payments I've tried with the exchange that I usually use, one of which is Binance Pay.
Even though the non-custodial control is not yet complete, at least this exchange is enough to help me to just buy a soft drink or a small strawberry sauce cake.
especially from the fast P2p system without having any card to withdraw money with any machine. It's also comfortable to use in my opinion.
In the future, payments with any cryptocurrencies in my opinion will continue to be improved and facilitate services as well
continuity of P2p practice in a pleasant life.
as well as cipotle in collaboration with flexa
I think this program is enough to make transactions easier.good job

[kryptqnick]

Even if it's indirect acceptance, I think it's still good news. I haven't heard of big companies accepting Bitcoin as payment for a while, so any case of accepting Bitcoin as money is positive, especially when it's a big company. It helps people get reminded that it's not just an asset, but also a medium of exchange. 3000 restaurants is huge, and it's reasonable to start with a 3rd party service. Maybe then, after such options get more widespread, direct acceptance can be discussed.
I'm also curious about the tax implications, though, like others in the thread.

[DaveF]

Minor(ish) issue. The list of places that accept payment though the app are small which is not a big deal. BUT all of them have a $5 minimum. So I had to add more funds to create a payment to get the rest of the value off.

Since as stated and pointed out when depositing, you can not withdraw coins you either have to sit with funds locked up in the app or put in less then you need to spend and pay the rest a different way.

Not related to chipolte per say but the app in general.
Just something to keep in mind.

-Dave

[Husires]

It is good news, not because the company accepts payments, but rather indicates that Bitcoin has a popularity among individuals. The company will not make much profit by accepting these currencies, but it is an indirect proof of the popularity of Bitcoin.

I hope that awareness and thinking about digital currencies will continue, not as an investment, but as money and a good investment in the long run. People may not be inclined to spend them like dollars, but you will be happy with the experience of paying using them.