Earlier this month, 2Talk became the first telecommunications company in New Zealand to accept payment by Bitcoin.

Customers of 2Talk, who specialises in voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) and telephony solutions, can now pay their account via Bitcoin, the currency phenomenon whereby users store and move money between encrypted digital wallets.

“Our customers are early-adopters by nature,” says general manager Jude Flood. “They were among the first to cut the cord and throw away the old traditional phone service, embracing voice-over-internet technology.

“So we see payment by Bitcoin as a natural service for our customers.”

Flood says payment by Bitcoin is for those who don't like entering credit card information, billing addresses, and verification codes. It also means customers can avoid the hassle of regularly updating this information.

“It simplifies payment to a 5-second procedure. And for customers paying by Bitcoin, the currency is converted to NZ currency at the time of payment, so any currency variation risk is absorbed by 2Talk,” she says.

2Talk, which has more than 50,000 lines in service through its award-winning VOIP platform, is the premier provider of SIP-based telephony to small and medium enterprises in New Zealand.