Showroomprivé adopts Bitcoin

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Oct 2, 2014

The French private sales site has announced that it is the first major commercial site in Europe to implement Bitcoin.

Payment via the virtual currency was launched in France in late September, following a test conducted in the Netherlands. The system will be rolled out in the coming weeks in the site’s other markets, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. 

"The new service has already met with some success in the United States and should soon win over Europe," said Thierry Petit, co-CEO of Showroomprive.com. "We want to be ready to support our customers with this new method of payment." 

To launch the new system, Showroomprivé has partnered with the company Paymium, which allows merchants to accept Bitcoins. Paymium’s site serves as a marketplace that allows users to exchange of currency for Bitcoins while following the virtual currency’s exchange rate. 

Last year Showroomprivé generated a turnover of 350 million euros (+40%). The company boasts more than 16.2 million members, including 11.5 million in France, with 1.3 million visitors a day on its site, “all country sites included.”