Despite the continuing conflict, pharmacies in Ukraine are adopting digital payments, with a prominent local drugstore chain accepting Bitcoin purchases. ANC Drugstore, one of the largest pharmacy networks in Ukraine, has collaborated with Binance Ukraine to accept cryptocurrency payments using the contactless cryptocurrency payment tool Binance Pay.
On January 3, ANC Pharmaceutical allowed its clients to make quick payments while ordering drugstore supplies online, the pharmacy chain stated formally on Tuesday. ANC Pharmacy runs over a thousand pharmacies in Ukraine in addition to its own online pharmacy. As per an official notification, Binance Pay will first be implemented in Kyiv pharmacies.
The innovative payment option will be accessible in ANC pharmacies and also in Kopiyka and Shara, which are ANC Pharmacy-run drug stores. According to the official release, ANC, Kopiyka, and Shara are the initial pharmacy in Europe to take cryptocurrency. To make a cryptocurrency payment at ANC pharmacies, consumers must first download the Binance program and then visit ANC.ua. After selecting an item to purchase online, consumers will be able to pay utilizing the Binance Pay service and collect their order at a selected drugstore.
In the past few years, Binance has aggressively expanded its operations in Ukraine. In September last year, Binance teamed with the Ukrainian grocery chain Varus to enable consumers use the Binance Pay Wallet to settle for groceries.
At the start of February 2022, or a few weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Binance Ukraine’s general manager Kirill Khomyakov stated that the introduction of a Binance Card in Ukraine was among Binance’s top goals for 2022.
As per Khomyakov, cryptocurrency payments using services such as Binance Card do not violate Ukrainian legislation, since there is no prohibition on crypto-derived activities in Ukraine. Likewise, local rules prohibit straightforward payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
