The Belgian division of Black & White Burger, a fast-food franchise based in France, has declared that it will allow cryptocurrency payments across all its outlets in the country. Additionally, the chain has introduced a “mystery burger” that is exclusively available to customers who pay using cryptocurrency, according to L’Echo and L’Avenir media outlets.
Black & White Burger has collaborated with Lyzi, a French cryptocurrency application developer, to facilitate crypto payments at all 12 of its Belgian branches, according to reports. Mansour Nasr, the franchise’s chief, was quoted as saying:
“Black & White is a contemporary brand that [moves] with the times. The crypto community is growing. We want to meet the growing demand from customers who want to pay in crypto.”
The two companies announced that patrons would be able to use 70 different tokens to pay for their food and beverage purchases, with the fast food merchant claiming to be the initial chain in the country to provide this crypto payment option.
This collaboration marks Lyzi’s initial venture into international markets, with Nasr stating that he has been a cryptocurrency proponent, owning coins and considering the implementation of crypto payments for a few years. Black & White Burger was founded by Ibra TV, a France-based YouTube personality, and has pledged to collaborate with Ibra TV on future cryptocurrency-related projects.
The Belgian franchise of a burger chain has adopted cryptocurrency payments, prompting speculation as to whether this move is a marketing campaign or indicative of the growing acceptance of cryptocurrency in the mainstream economy.
Nasr estimated that cryptocurrency payments could account for 2% to 3% of the company’s revenue in Belgium, according to a statement. Jerry Agondanou, the manager of the Brussels branch of Black & White, acknowledged that the chain’s adoption of crypto payments was partially aimed at generating publicity. However, experts interviewed by L’Avenir were less optimistic and voiced their doubts.
According to a report, a person identified as a “researcher” named Louis Larue made the following statement:
“Crypto has a lot of popularity among younger age groups. On social networks, influencers praise crypto as a way to get rich quick and give investment advice. […] This burger chain is surfing on [that wave].”
An academic from the University of Gothenburg stated with certainty that the adoption of cryptocurrency payments by the burger chain was a component of its marketing strategy. Earlier this year, a French pharmacy garnered attention in the country for implementing cryptocurrency payments.
Additionally, Burger King locations in Paris have recently installed mobile phone charging stations powered by cryptocurrency payments. The use of cryptocurrency payments has also been increasing in Brazil, where various card issuers have introduced solutions that allow customers to pay with tokens while merchants receive fiat currency.
