Swiss health insurance company Atupri Health Insurance announced on Monday that its customers will now be able to make payments using bitcoin or ether. According to the firm, users can set up the new payment method on their dashboard and start making cryptocurrency payments at no additional cost other than miner fees.

Established in 1910, Atupri is the first Swiss health insurance provider to offer cryptocurrency payments to over 200,000 customers. In 2019, the firm recorded over 800 million Swiss francs (approximately $888 million USD) in revenue. Commenting on the launch, Atupri's Head of Marketing and Sales Caroline Melindas spoke to the growing importance of cryptocurrencies in the payment sector.

As a digital pioneer in the healthcare sector, we anticipate social trends and provide insurance solutions with long-term perspectives. Blockchain technology and therefore also the use of cryptocurrencies are becoming noticeably more and more important. In line with this, we want to provide our policyholders with the necessary structures.

Atupri offers the new payment method in collaboration with the cryptocurrency and financial service firm Bitcoin Suisse. Functioning as a merchant processor, Bitcoin Suisse immediately converts customer payments from bitcoin into Swiss francs and then transmits them to Atupri. This allows the health insurance provider to minimize its exposure to Bitcoin’s price volatility.

"We are pleased about the partnership with Atupri and guarantee secure and uncomplicated payment options with crypto currencies," stated Armin Schmid, Head of Crypto Payments at Bitcoin Suisse.

Atupri isn’t Bitcoin Suisse's first partner. Most recently, the company cooperated with the municipality of Zermatt, enabling the region's residents to use bitcoin as a means of payment for local taxes.

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