Norwegian Air will add cryptocurrency payments this year

Clients of one of the largest airlines in Europe Norwegian Air will be able to pay for flights using digital currencies. Payments will be supported by the Norwegian NBX cryptocurrency exchange.

In an interview with a local business publication, the generalNorwegian Block Exchange (NBX) director Stig Kjos-Mathisen said that his cryptocurrency trading platform has successfully developed a payment infrastructure that will allow Norwegian Air customers to purchase tickets for digital currencies. “On our part, everything is ready for launch,” he said.

Kjos-Mathisen - son-in-law of Bjørn Kjos,Founder and CEO of Norwegian Air, who has been involved in NBX since its launch in 2019. Initially, the exchange was created with the aim of providing infrastructure for paying for tickets with cryptocurrencies. In September, one of Norway's oldest banks, Sparebanken Øst, acquired a 16.3% stake in NBX for $ 1.6 million.

NBX plans to introduce a new feature forNorwegian customers at the end of this year. The exchange began working for beta users in September last year and now has opened registration for everyone. It is not yet clear which digital assets NBX will support for paying for tickets. According to existing information, the founder’s son, Lars Ola Kyos bought BTC for NOK 3.5 million in 2017 before the cryptocurrency reached its historic maximum.

Note that in order to reduce costs and toTo increase customer loyalty, airlines are increasingly resorting to the implementation of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. In August last year, it became known that Etihad Airways uses the Winding Tree blockchain platform to improve the operation of its internal information systems.

Winding Tree provides informationreal-time systems for a number of airlines, hotels and travel agencies around the world. The startup has entered into agreements with many well-known airlines, including Air Canada, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Eurowings, Swiss Air, Swissport, Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Air New Zealand.