AT&T, the world’s largest telecommunications company, became the first major U.S. mobile carrier to accept Bitcoin for payment.
AT&T customers will now be able to select BitPay as a payment option, allowing for bill payment in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. The telecom company had over 150 million subscribers as of Q4 2018.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve and expand our services,” said Kevin McDorman, vice president, AT&T Communications Finance Business Operations. “We have customers who use cryptocurrency, and we are happy we can offer them a way to pay their bills with the method they prefer.”
Using BitPay is currently limited to paying bills for AT&T services. Purchasing phones or signing new service contracts are not impacted by the integration.
The news follows a trend of increasing merchant acceptance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a method of payment. Last week, Flexa network and its SPEDN app expanded acceptance for the top coins among some of the largest brands, including Whole Foods, Lowe’s, and Nordstrom.