Airport Lets Customers Swap Leftover Euros for Bitcoin

A cryptocurrency ATM has been installed at the Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam in order to enable the travelers to convert Euros into Bitcoin or Ethereum. On Wednesday, there was an announcement from the airport that this is an initiative to determine the demand for two most popular cryptocurrencies amongst travelers. Being the first initiative of its kind, this trial would be conducted for six months.

In a strategic move, the ATM has been placed in proximity to the departures terminal, to enable the outgoing travelers to exchange their remaining Euros for two of the most prominent cryptocurrencies is the market. The ATM is precisely located in the Arrival Hall 2 that is connected by a corridor to Departure Hall 1 and Departure Hall 2, which are frequented by outbound passengers.

Tanja Dik, Director of consumer products and services at Schipol International Airport, said that “With the Bitcoin ATM, we hope to provide a useful service to passengers by allowing them to easily exchange ‘local’ euros for the ‘global’ cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum. That can be beneficial if, for instance, it’s not possible to spend euros in their home country.”

The ATM has been installed in partnership with Bylex and is a two-way ATM that accepts Euro Bills. Bylex is a Dutch software services company that offers these ATMs through “Byecoin,” its subsidiary.

This trend of allowing the passengers to exchange fiat currency with cryptocurrency enables them to save a lot of money that would have been spent on high conversion charges, is fast catching up with Airport Operators across the world.

Accepting cryptocurrencies in a much meaningful way, earlier this year, Brisbane International Airport in Australia has introduced a crypto payment system at many retail outlets operating from the two terminals of the airport. Both the terminals are conveniently accessible by both arriving and departing passengers to enable them to make payments in cryptocurrencies.