Retailer Bealls Branches Further Into Crypto Payments

Celebrating its 110th birthday, apparel and home merchandise retailer Bealls says it has reached another milestone.

The company announced recently it has become the first national retailer to accept digital currencies from any cryptocurrency wallet app across more than a dozen blockchains simultaneously, supporting a variety of assets including stablecoins and meme coins.

This is due to Bealls recent integration of in-store payments with digital payments platform Flexa, letting customers pay using popular digital currencies across the Bealls, Bealls Florida, and Home Centric banners, the company said in a release.

“Digital currency will reshape how the world transacts, and Bealls is proud to be at the forefront of that transformation,” said Matt Beall, the company’s chairman and CEO. “Our partnership with Flexa is about more than payments; it’s about preparing for the future of commerce and continuing to innovate for the next 110 years.”

According to the release, the integration will use the Flexa Payments solution to accept more than 99 digital currencies, including bitcoin, ether and stablecoins, from more than 300 digital currency wallets.

“The retail legacy that Bealls has built over the last 110 years is simply incredible, and it’s no surprise that a company with this much staying power is now adopting the most important payments technology evolution the world has ever seen,” added Trevor Filter, Flexa’s co-founder.

PYMNTS wrote about the use of cryptocurrency in the retail sector from a different perspective earlier this year, following reports that both Amazon and Walmart were exploring the launch of their own branded stablecoins. The report looked specifically at how these tokens could be used for speedier settlement, reduced transaction fees and improved loyalty ecosystems.

“The financial case is compelling,” that report said. “U.S. retailers paid more than $160 billion in card processing fees in 2022 alone. A proprietary stablecoin system could bypass these intermediaries, freeing up billions in working capital and providing unprecedented visibility into transaction flows.”

And while the retail giants explore issuing coins, infrastructure players such as Shopify and Coinbase are “making stablecoin payments practical for small businesses and online stores,” PYMNTS wrote.

Shopify this year began allowing merchants to accept USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, using the Base blockchain, a Layer 2 solution built by Coinbase. Coinbase itself has launched its crypto-native business account, offering a “crypto operating system” for startups and small businesses, the report added. This system integrates crypto payments, custody, yield and conversion tools, with no fees on incoming transactions.