Ferrari Hopes Crypto Payments Can Widen Customer Base

Ferrari has reportedly begun accepting cryptocurrency payments for its vehicles in the U.S.

That’s according to a Saturday (Oct. 14) report by Reuters, citing comments from the luxury carmaker’s marketing chief.

As Reuters noted, most blue-chip firms have avoided crypto, due to the volatility of the digital coins, regulation worries and their high energy use.

Among them is Tesla, which began to accept payment in bitcoin in 2021 only for CEO Elon Musk to halt the program months later due to environmental concerns.

But Ferrari’s Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera said in the Reuters interview that the crypto world has worked to shrink its carbon footprint via new software and a wider use of renewable sources.

“Our target to reach for carbon neutrality by 2030 along our whole value chain is absolutely confirmed,” Galliera said.

The company said its decision is in response to requests from the market and car dealers as many of its customers have invested in crypto.

“Some are young investors who have built their fortunes around cryptocurrencies,” Galliera said. “Some others are more traditional investors, who want to diversify their portfolios.”

The executive did not share how many cars Ferrari expects to sell via crypto payments, but said the company’s orders were booked into 2025. All the same, Ferrari is hoping this venture will expand its customer base.

“This will help us connect to people who are not necessarily our clients but might afford a Ferrari,” Galliera told Reuters.

PYMNTS looked at the advantages of crypto payments last month in a conversation with Brad Chase, head of liquidity products at enterprise crypto solutions company Ripple, who pointed to studies that show up to a 70% cost reduction by going from traditional rails to crypto.

“As merchants start to remove those intermediaries, they can provide a better customer experience with more efficiencies and lower costs that they can then pass on to their customers,” Chase added.

Aside from capturing payment flow efficiencies and lowering operational and settlement costs, eCommerce players and merchants can benefit from crypto payments in other ways. 

“One of the key advantages of crypto payments lies in the rich data source they provide … which enables effective compliance, fraud prevention, and valuable customer insights,” Chase said, pointing out crypto payments give businesses the chance to leverage data-driven strategies to enhance their operations, gain a better understanding of their customers and generate added revenue.