Caracas-based delivery service Dingo has added Dash as a payment option allowing customers in Venezuela's capital city to use Dash to buy almost anything.
Announced today, Dingo allows users users to pay with Dash to order a wide variety of products and services. The service works via the WhatsApp messaging app, where a user enters the products or services they wish to acquire, a payment invoice is presented, and once paid a delivery person acquires and delivers the products. Services provided can include bill payment as well, provided a delivery driver is able to pay the bill in person. At time of writing, Dingo does not accept cryptocurrencies other than Dash.
Dingo also employs an integration with SMS text-based wallet service Dash Text, allowing users to pay for deliveries via text message. This is particularly useful for users with weak data connections or older phone models. Lorenzo Rey, CTO of Dash Text, believes that this integration significantly increases the usefulness of Dash as everyday money:
"This is extremely significant because it allows Dash users to buy anything they want with Dash, living only off of crypto gets easier and easier thanks to this kind of integration, just like Bitrefill solved this problem (mostly) in the US, Dingo solves it in Venezuela, and that's very powerful."
The ability to live off of Dash, in Venezuela and worldwide
The addition of Dash as a payment option by Dingo further facilitates the ability to use it for payments in Venezuela. Earlier this week, Piiddo, a delivery service operating in the western part of the country, also integrated Dash, meaning that users are serviced outside of the Caracas metropolitan area. According to Rey, the broad coverage that these two services provide help overcome a key barrier to adopting Dash as a main currency:
"We think this is something Dash users will use for sure over other currencies, however people who are on the fence but don't have enough places to spend it to be convinced to get Dash now have a massive reason to jump on the Dash train, since now they can be sure they'll be able to buy anything they need."
In the US, and in many parts in North America and Europe, Bitrefill provides access to gift codes to many major retailers, allowing users to buy almost anything with cryptocurrencies including Dash. Additionally, ShopInBit provides a concierge service allowing users to spend cryptocurrency to buy almost any item imaginable, which will then be delivered to them. These services, as well as the two Venezuelan delivery services, significantly facilitate the task of living off of Dash by supplementing existing businesses.
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