The health insurance company Atupri makes it possible for customers to pay their bills with Bitcoin and Ether. The health and accident insurance thereby takes a pioneering role regarding the payment possibilities with crypto-currencies.
As the first Swiss health insurance company, Atrupi now also accepts Bitcoin and Ether. Caroline Meli, member of the Atrupi management board, justifies this decision by explaining that the health insurance company wants to "strengthen its position as an innovative provider of digital solutions in the health sector". The option of paying bills in crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin or Ether will be offered as of August 31, 2020.
"Our client base is digitally savvy and we assume that it meets an increasing customer demand to be able to pay with crypto-currencies" - Caroline Meli, Member of the Atupri Management Board.
Cooperation with Bitcoin Suisse
Atupri, which had more than 200,000 customers at the beginning of 2020, offers the new payment method in cooperation with Bitcoin Suisse AG. This innovative step would also hardly involve any risks for Atupri and its customers.
"Our partner Bitcoin Suisse is subject to the Financial Market Authority (Finma), and we have clarified our plans in detail with the Federal Office of Public Health and Finma in advance" - Caroline Meli
Not holding any crypto-currencies
Atupri itself owns no crypto-currencies. The insured will receive the current exchange rate when making the payment. This is always guaranteed by Bitcoin Suisse in Swiss francs and is transferred accordingly. The currency risk is thus covered by Bitcoin Suisse and this potential issue for the health insurance company can be avoided. Atupri does however not offer the possibility of receiving payments or repayments in Bitcoin or Ether from the customer's perspective.
In order to make payments in crypto-currencies, Atupri customers receive a link via QR code, which they can use to execute payments via their crypto wallet.
