Pete Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) | Published on September 2, 2014 at 11:29 BST
Switzerland’s University of Zurich is integrating a student-made bitcoin payments solution into one of its cafeterias as part of a two-week trial.
Called CoinBlesk, the mobile payments platform uses two-way near-field communication (NFC) technology and was developed as part of a student project to create an open-source bitcoin spending tool.
Students will be able to load their CoinBlesk wallets online or at a new bitcoin ATM that will be installed at the university.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Professor Dr Burkhard Stiller, who served as the project’s advisor, described how the two offerings will work together on campus:
“The bitcoin ATM makes the trial phase easier for people willing to pay with NFC-based bitcoin transactions, since they can buy them locally.”
The bitcoin ATM, which was manufactured by BitAccess, will be operated by Switzerland-based bitcoin broker SBEX and installed near Mensa UZH Binzmühle, the dining facility that will accept bitcoin payments for the promotion.
READ MORE Switzerland’s Largest University Tests ‘Touchless’ Bitcoin Payments Solution.