One of Latin America’s leading travel agencies Despegar has partnered with Binance Pay and Inswitch to enable customers to pay for travel packages using cryptocurrencies. First, the product will only be available to customers in Argentina.
The agreement, announced by Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, makes Despegar the first online travel agency (OTA) in Latin America to accept digital assets as a payment method. Customers will be able to pay for hotel stays, flights, car rentals and cruises in over 70 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP) travel.
While the new option is only available to customers in Argentina, other countries in South America may be covered in the future.
Paula Cristi, general manager of Despegar Argentina and Uruguay, said the company has recognized the virtues of the cryptocurrency industry and believes that the launch will allow Argentines to “approach the world in a friendly way.”
"We're proud to continue to add new options and payment facilities to allow more and more people to realize their travel dreams," she added. Maximiliano Hinz - director of Binance at Latam Southern Cone - claimed that the main use case for cryptocurrencies is to facilitate payments. He firmly believes that the industry is still in its early stages, believing that “adoption rates have a lot of room to grow.” The executive highlighted the partnership between Despegar and Binance Pay, describing it as a “bill” that can promote digital assets across society. An important step."
The payment method is powered by Inswitch, a global fintech company responsible for converting digital currencies into fiat currencies. CEO Ronald Alvarenga commented: “We are delighted with our new alliance with Despegar and Binance as it delivers on our commitment to democratize the payments industry and give Despegar customers an additional way to pay as they embrace the world of cryptocurrencies.”
Despegar is one of the largest travel agencies in Latin America. It employs more than 4,500 people and operates in more than 20 countries in the region, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and more.
The cryptocurrency has already interacted with well-known hotel chains around the world. Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, which has locations in Bali, Phuket, the Himalayas, Rome and Amsterdam, partnered with Coindirect in 2021 to allow payments with 40 different digital assets.
Swissotel Chedi Andermatt in the Alps is not far behind, enabling customers to settle stays in BTC or ETH instead of fiat currency. Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort, W Dubai – The Palm and Palazzo Versace Dubai in the capital Manama also made the list.
Notably, the hotel chain with the largest number of available rooms Marriott International has also dabbled in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Unfortunately for the organization, it is one of many FTX creditors.
