AMC Theatres debuts crypto payments for electronic gift cards

AMC Theaters, the world’s largest movie theater chain, is rapidly moving closer to its goal of making cryptocurrency payments by the end of the year and has now launched bitcoin purchases for electronic gift cards.

The AMC website, mobile app, and theaters will now allow users to purchase digital gift cards using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) directly, according to the chief executive officer, Adam Aron, who introduced the new feature on Wednesday.

Aron said during an earnings call in August that the theater chain would begin taking bitcoin as payment for tickets and snacks by the end of 2021.

Crypto payment

AMC operates 593 cinemas in the United States and 335 theaters in other countries.

According to Aron, the new payment option was enabled through the main cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay, which allows consumers to purchase e-cards worth up to $200.

Among the digital assets accepted for AMC e-card purchases, Aron paid particular attention to Dogecoin (DOGE). The CEO disclosed last month that the DOGE cryptocurrency will be added to the list of cryptocurrencies that will be accepted for tickets by the end of 2021.

In response to the news, Dogecoin (the meme-based cryptocurrency) rose in value, reaching its greatest level in more than three weeks at more than $0.27 before falling back to its previous level. DOGE is currently trading at $0.244 per unit as of Wednesday noon.

Strong survey response

Meanwhile, Aron had launched a survey of 140,000 people on Twitter, in which he asked the community whether AMC should accept DOGE payments in lieu of cash for movie theater tickets.

“It’s evident that you believe AMC should take Dogecoin as payment. Now we just have to figure out how to go about it. Be on the lookout,” Aron said.

It was earlier reported that the CEO revealed his plans to accept Bitcoin payments for movie tickets in August, with the expectation of implementing the new payment option by 2022.

AMC also intends to support four additional cryptocurrencies, including the previously mentioned DOGE, Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Earlier this year, Major Cineplex Group, the country’s largest movie theater operator, introduced a payment pilot program that allowed customers to pay for movie tickets with cryptocurrency.

Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube

Source: https://bitcoinerx.com/blockchain/amc-theatres-debuts-crypto-payments-for-electronic-gift-cards/