Pharmacies in Ukraine are embracing digital payments amid the ongoing war, with a major local pharmacy chain enabling payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
ANC Pharmacy, one of the biggest pharmacy chains in Ukraine, has partnered with Binance Ukraine to debut cryptocurrency payments via contactless crypto payment service Binance Pay.
Starting from Jan. 3, ANC Pharmacy enabled its customers to proceed with instant payments while purchasing pharmacy products online, the pharmacy chain officially announced on Tuesday.
ANC Pharmacy operates more than 1,000 pharmacies across Ukraine, running its own online pharmacy service. According to an official announcement, Binance Pay payments will be initially rolled out in pharmacies in Kyiv.
The new payment feature will be available at ANC pharmacies as well as ANC Pharmacy-operated pharmacy stores like Kopiyka and Shara. “ANC, Kopiyka and Shara are the first pharmacies in Europe to accept crypto,” the official announcement stated.
In order to proceed with a crypto payment at ANC pharmacies, users need to download the Binance application and then go to the ANC.ua website. After choosing a product to order online, users will be able to pay using Binance Pay service and pick up the order at a preferred pharmacy.
A spokesperson for Binance Ukraine did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request to comment.
Related: Ukraine collabs with international consultants to update crypto framework
Binance has been actively pushing its presence in Ukraine over the past few years. In September 2022, Binance also partnered with the Ukrainian supermarket chain Varus, allowing customers to pay for grocery purchases through its Binance Pay Wallet.
In early February 2022 — or weeks before Russian forces invaded Ukraine — Binance Ukraine’s general manager Kirill Khomyakov told Cointelegraph that launching a Binance Card in Ukraine was one of Binance’s top priorities for 2022.
According to Khomyakov, crypto payments via services like Binance Card do not conflict with Ukrainian laws because there is no ban on crypto-derived transactions in Ukraine. At the same time, local laws do not allow direct payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.