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European heavyweight club and Portuguese champions S.L. Benfica has entered into a partnership with cryptocurrency payment solution UTRUST to start accepting cryptocurrency payments.
S.L. Benfica is one of the world’s most passionately-supported football clubs with more than 14 million supporters worldwide, and a global, digital fan base exceeding 7 million. It recently reclaimed the Primeira Liga title for a record 37th time.
With its UTRUST partnership, S.L. Benfica has become the first major European football club to accept cryptocurrency payments. Benfica supporters would now be able to use the native UTRUST token (UTK) as well as popular cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum to purchase match tickets and the full range of merchandise through the official Benfica online store.
The partnership is expected to help evolve the club’s e-commerce strategy and expand its global audience, bringing tech-savvy supporters and cryptocurrency holders in Portugal and abroad closer to its home ground of the Estádio da Luz.
S.L. Benfica CEO, Domingos Soares de Oliveira said the move comes as the club recognizes many of its supporters are digital users first.
“This is an exciting day in the history of S.L. Benfica as we announce our decision to accept cryptocurrency payments,” he said. “…we want to be ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting novel technologies and giving our supporters the best online experience. We are very excited about the possibilities that this partnership with UTRUST presents in the evolution of our e-commerce strategy and we look forward to accepting our first cryptocurrency payment.”
According to the press release, Benfica will benefit from the security and convenience of cryptocurrency payments offered by UTRUST’s core technology, while protecting the club from market volatility. The partnership will also significantly reduce processing fees and eliminate inconvenient credit-card chargebacks and fraudulent payments.
Most importantly, Benfica will be able to settle payments directly to its bank in fiat on the very same day they are received.
“This partnership with Portugal’s number one football club marks a major milestone for UTRUST and the blockchain ecosystem as a whole. Benfica is one of the biggest sporting clubs worldwide and we are delighted to be making cryptocurrency payments possible for their 14 million supporters around the world,” UTRUST Co-Founder and CEO, Nuno Correia said.
Switzerland-based UTRUST last month received the approval to join the Financial Services Standards Association (VQF) – a self-regulatory organization (SRO) officially recognized by Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
