Bitcoin working its way into universities
Caf&eacute; Punta del Cielo, a coffee shop located on the campus of Mexico's Universidad de las Am&eacute;ricas Puebla (UDLAP) has made history by becoming the first university in the Latin American region to accept Bitcoin payments. Top level Universities like Canada&rsquo;s Simon Fraser University (SFU), Spain&rsquo;s Pompeu Fabra University, and United States&rsquo; MIT, are also now adopting Bitcoin. Accepting Bitcoin payments in the caf&eacute; will potentially inspire other traders to endorse Bitcoin, said Jose Rodriguez, VP of Bitso, which is supplying the necessary technology.
Mexican University Caters to Bitcoin Payments

August 25, 2015 By: Michael Cheng

A well-established coffee shop named Café Punta del Cielo now accepts bitcoin payments.

Located in Mexico’s Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP), the branch is the first business to cater to bitcoin transactions in a Latin American university.

Other popular universities that offer digital payments services include the following: MIT in the US, Canada’s Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Spain’s Pompeu Fabra University. Some institutions have gone as far as adding bitcoin ATMs inside the campus.

Responsible for the technology installed at the iconic café is Bitso, a leading bitcoin exchange provider.

In January, the company launched BitsoPagos, a payments processing service. Merchants signed on with the brand can benefit from robust e-commerce tools, easy to integrate APIs and a POS system.

“We expect this successful BitsoPagos integration to create the traction for more Punta del Cielo and many other merchants to adopt Bitcoin,” cited Jose Rodriguez, VP of payments of Bitso.

The bitcoin exchange has made several advances this year.

Bitso recently completed a seed funding round led by Barry Silbert-backed investment fund Bitcoin Opportunity Corp. Selected private investors also participated in the campaign.

In June, the group acquired Unisend Mexico for an undisclosed amount, in an attempt to gain local market share.

“While we still cater to traders, it just makes sense to plug BitsoPagos into the same market and attract Mexican merchants,” said chief executive Pablo Gonzalez.

“The brick-and-mortar solution is great for users that already have some bitcoin and want to spend it somewhere. It is as convenient as using cash when making a payment; it is also great advertising for bitcoin.”

By supporting local merchants, Bitso hopes to boost bitcoin adoption in the region. Through its products, the company has positioned itself to take on Mexico’s thriving remittance space.