Gemini and Flexa team up to deliver cryptocurrency payments

Gemini and cryptocurrency payment network Flexa have teamed up to deliver cryptocurrency payments, according to a news release. With the use of the Spedn mobile wallet app, people can now pay for a large variety of goods using four cryptocurrencies—Gemini dollars, bitcoin, ether, and bitcoin cash.

As a result of the partnership, large retailers including Amazon’s Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble and Crate and Barrel, will accept crypto payments starting today. According to Fortune, Starbucks has also partnered up with Flexa, albeit unofficially. Interestingly, the coffee giant was supposed to introduce an in-store cryptocurrency payment solution created by Bakkt. 

The payments are pretty straightforward and don’t require shops to adopt any new technology. After topping up the Spedn wallet, the customer scans the app’s barcode at the register to make a payment. Flexa then converts the customer’s chosen cryptocurrency to U.S. dollars in real time. Gemini also offers custodian services to Flexa users.

“The Flexa cryptocurrency payments network has the potential to transform the payments industry, providing everyday use cases for spending your crypto, which hasn’t been a practical reality until now,” Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini wrote in a Medium post. According to Winklevoss, "tangible use cases are the next step in the story of crypto’s promise.”

The app will be available on iOS devices in the App Store.