Bitcoin has been added to the payment options for a major US university. Georgia Institute of Technology announced today that it was partnering with BitPay to begin accepting Bitcoin at its stadium concession sales, student dining facilities and the Universities shopping credit system. This makes Georgia Tech the first University in the world to accept Bitcoin as payment. The Georgia Institute of Technology was founded in 1885 and to this day it consistently ranks in the top 40 universities in the United States.
The Bitcoin POS devices will be located in the student section of Bobby Dodd Stadium and in the Barnes and Noble College Bookstore located in the University’s Tech Square. Students will be able to use their “BuzzCards” to make purchases of both food and goods at almost all of these locations on campus. The placement in Barnes & Noble on campus raises the question of whether or not B&N is considering adding Bitcoin in all of its stores. The company’s current POS provider is INCOMM, a company that provides traditional payment POS processing for many of the largest retail corporations around the world. Cointelegraph is in the process of contacting Barnes and Noble corporate with questions about this issue.
The University calls the BuzzCard a “key to campus life.” The Universities sports teams, the Yellow Jackets, have a large following and the stadium does excellent business during the football season. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 55,000 and an average game attendance of 43,955. Interestingly enough, the stadium was actually built by its academically gifted students in 1913.
The point of sale devices will be supplemented with the Pheeva Bitcoin wallet “JacketWallet”, designed especially for the University by Love Will Inc. The wallet was customized by its creators to meet the specific needs of the University and the students who will be using it to make purchases. The Jacket wallet has the Georgia Tech’s signature in the schools colors, navy blue and gold and will require users to have a university email address to enroll.
Georgia Tech AD Mike Bobinski said about the agreement with BitPay:
“We look forward to working with BitPay to make bitcoin a viable payment option for our students and fans. At Georgia Tech, we are always looking to lead in innovative ways, and this partnership with BitPay gives us an opportunity to do so by integrating this new technology at a sports venue and in the daily lives of our students.”
BitPay has been working with Georgia Tech for some time now. In July the company announced a breakthrough partnership with the Georgia Athletic Association designed to increase Bitcoin awareness on campus by placing the Bitcoin logo Bobby Dodd Stadium and the McCamish Pavilion that will remain throughout the 2014-2015 school years. Bitpay also purchased the rights to the St. Petersburg bowl and named it the "Bitcoin Bowl." The company has offices in North and South America and a new office in Europe and has collected over $32 million from top investors including Index Ventures, Founders Fund, and Sir Richard Branson.
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