European football giant SL Benfica accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, and UTK for payments

Portugal's most popular football club announced a partnership with the payment platform UTRUST, becoming one of the first football clubs to accept cryptocurrency payments.

According to Coindesk report, SL Benfica, based in Lisbon, Portugal, is a football-focused multi-sport club and the first major European football club to allow purchases of its merchandise with cryptocurrency. In addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum, customers can also use the token of their partner UTRUST – UTK for payments.

Benfica stated that the decision to accept cryptocurrency payments is based on upgrading their e-commerce strategy and meeting the demand of expanding their global audience. Currently, the Portuguese national team has a fan base of 14 million, and the club aims to enhance user experience and attract cryptocurrency holders to expand its audience.

SL Benfica's CEO, Domingos Soares de Oliveira, mentioned that the fan base was crucial in deciding to adopt the new payment method. He stated:

We are aware that many of our supporters are now cryptocurrency users and want to adopt new technologies to offer the best online experience to our supporters and be at the forefront in this area.

As the club described, adding cryptocurrency can also address common issues with credit card payments such as refunds and fraudulent payments. On the other hand, it allows funds to be deposited into Benfica's bank account in fiat currency on the day of each purchase in their online store. According to UTRUST's CEO, Nuno Correia, this partnership is also a significant breakthrough in the financial services scope within the blockchain ecosystem. He stated:

This partnership with Portugal's number one football club represents a significant milestone for UTRUST and the entire blockchain ecosystem.

UTRUST is a leading cryptocurrency payment provider primarily supporting businesses, and its token UTRUST UTK currently has a market value of $3.01 million, ranking 158th on Coinmarketcap.

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