August 18, 2022 - Osijek's tourism workers follow world trends to keep up with the times and, of course, to be even more competitive in the global tourism market. This is confirmed by the example of Jasmina Krkić Poznić, the owner of Guesthouse Maksimilian, in Franjevačka Street, Tvrđa, who has just announced that accommodation and stay in the facilities can be paid for with cryptocurrencies.

Glas Slavonije spoke to Jasmina. “Paying for accommodation with cryptocurrencies from now on in our boutique. In step with the times. We might be located in a historic building, but our spirit is young. Cryptocurrency players welcome #cryptocurrency #wherecanIspendBitcoin #paycek”, says as of this week the Facebook page of Guesthouse Maksimilian, which, precisely thanks to the skill and courage of its owners to always combine modern and traditional, in the past seven or eight years has received valuable recognition from travellers who ranked it among the 25 best in Croatia, among the top 10 in Croatia in terms of hospitality, and several other recognitions that gain additional meaning, because they come from guests, service users, or tourists themselves.

It is thus not surprising that Maksimilian is the first guesthouse in Osijek that allowed payment with cryptocurrencies, but also among the few in all of Croatia that decided to take that step.

“I've been thinking about this for a year and a half, actually since the possibility of paying with cryptocurrencies appeared”, says Krkić Poznić, adding that in the end, she came to the position that paying with cryptocurrencies is a “full-time job”. “I was researching models of how we could introduce the possibility of paying for our services with cryptocurrencies. I realised that cryptocurrencies are used by a very large number of people in the world, but recently also in our country and that there is a need to use them in everyday life to buy goods and pay for services, to simplify things. In the past month, the boys who prepared the technical solution and the application found me”, explains Krkić Poznić, meaning a virtual currency exchange app.

According to her, she will not see cryptocurrencies at any time.

“Unfortunately, or fortunately, I will not even see cryptocurrencies, because the guest pays with virtual currency through the application, and I receive the full amount in kuna at the same time. I don't have any contact with cryptocurrencies, the virtual exchange that takes them, and they pay me in kuna to the amount of the issued invoice. They, therefore, take on the business risk of trading cryptocurrencies” says Jasmina, emphasizing that he does not even know what model or “exchange rate” this is based on.

When asked if there is any risk of loss of value or fraud in the transaction, Jasmina says no, as the moment she issues the bill to the guest for the service used, the entire amount in kuna is credited to her account.

“If there even was a way of paying with cryptocurrencies in Croatia, I would be in trouble, because I am not familiar with the management of virtual money. On the other hand, there are more and more people who own cryptocurrencies and want to use them. In our country, too, some gas stations, retail chains, and post offices accept cryptocurrency, according to the same principle as I do. It's a local company and if big players work with them, then that's enough of a guarantee for me”, claims Jasmina.

Considering that payment with cryptocurrencies has taken off in our country, it is logical that our tourism employees adapt to the new conditions, as well as to the wishes of tourists. Those who have even a superficial understanding of the world of cryptocurrencies say that it is a simpler and far safer way of payment than when you must carry cash or cards with you. For now, the only drawback is that there are still very few places that accept “virtual money” as a payment currency.

“I don't think that there will be a big rush of cryptocurrency owners, but they should be given the opportunity no matter how much we might shy away from change. There is, however, a whole world of IT people and cryptocurrency owners who like to travel, go on excursions, and go to good restaurants. For these people, the fact that they can pay in cryptocurrencies can be the deciding factor when choosing their destination”, Jasmina Krkić Poznić concludes with satisfaction.

60 booked for autumn

Although summer is not a peak period for tourism on the continent, Jasmina was asked how this part of the season was going, and how the preparations are going for autumn, which local tourism workers are looking forward to.

This year there are just as many tourists as there were before the pandemic. There are even more domestic guests, she claims, recalling that before the pandemic, a significant number of guests in the summer period were tourists from Australia and New Zealand.

“They haven't come back yet. More domestic guests are coming, and I notice that the profile of the guests is also changing. We were rarely a destination where people would come for holidays, it was mostly about travelling. They would stay for a night on their way to the south, however, this year some tourists would stay up to three or four days. French and Italian and those who don't like crowds look for solitude and don't want to go to the sea. Such people discover us” says owner Maksimiliana with satisfaction.

She reminds us that autumn, that is, September - October, is their full season.

“We are already about 60 percent booked. Business events, meetings, seminars, congresses, conferences are starting, plus the tourist part, we are ready to welcome all our dear guests” she points out.

How good is your knowledge of eastern Croatia? Take the CROMADS test above - how many places do you recognise?

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Travel section.

July the 21st, 2022- iNovine is set to become the very first Croatian national kiosk which will accept payments made in cryptocurrencies, a form of currency which is rapidly becoming more and more popular as time goes on.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, iNovine, one of the largest retail kiosks in the Republic of Croatia which operates as part of BAT, is introducing a new cryptocurrency payment service, thus becoming the first Croatian national kiosk to offer the possibility of making payments in cryptocurrencies at physical points of sale.

This project was realised in cooperation with the company Electrocoin, which made cryptocurrency payments in chains like Konzum a reality, so from now on it is possible to pay quickly and securely with cryptocurrencies via the PayCek platform at all points of sale, and there are more than 250 of them throughout the country.

"Digitalisation and the introduction of innovations are key to the long-term improvement and sustainability of business, which is in line with the ESG strategy adopted at the level of the entire BAT Group. In the same way, we at iNovine are continuously listenening to the demands from the market, and the implementation of the system for processing crypto payments enables us to adapt our business to new generations of customers who are using cash less and less frequently when paying for things. It's a trend that mostly came to life during the global coronavirus pandemic when contactless shopping was suggested to people," emphasised Jurica Juric, the director of iNovine.

Payment with cryptocurrencies is realised through Electrocoin's PayCek platform, and it is possible to pay with fourteen different cryptocurrencies – bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, USDT, USDC, XRP, solana, litecoin, dai, stellar, dogecoin, eos, BUSD and near.

"If a person, for example, buys products worth 100 kuna and wants to pay in cryptocurrencies, the moment we inform iNovine via PayCek that the payment has been processed, iNovine receives its 100 kuna, while we at Electrocoin fully process the cryptocurrency transaction. The PayCek platform for accepting payments with cryptocurrencies guarantees security to every company that wants to provide its clients with this option," emphasised the director of Electrocin, Nikola Skoric.

Electrocoin is an innovative Croatian fintech company that provides crypto exchange services and receives cryptocurrencies as a payment method through their own PayCek platform. Although cryptocurrencies are often seen as an investment, Electrocoin has been developing large projects in Croatia for several years that enable the use of cryptocurrencies for everyday purchases. As such, companies attract new generations of users and improve their business all while keeping up with the latest trends.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

February 20, 2022 - BlockSplit, the largest regional conference for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, will hold its third edition from May 23 to 25, organized by the Croatian umbrella association for blockchain and cryptocurrencies - UBIK.

The Blockchain Hub Split organizers, as well as participants at the BlockSplit conference held in Split in April 2018, were more than satisfied when they gathered about 500 programmers and entrepreneurs at the Faculty of Economics, who spent two days through workshops and lectures getting acquainted with the fast-growing blockchain technology, best known for enabling the development of cryptocurrencies. In its first edition, the conference attracted 28 world-famous speakers, and in addition to educating and connecting participants from several countries, it also increased the blockchain community.

This year, BlockSplit, the largest regional conference for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, will hold its third edition from May 23 to 25, organized by the Croatian umbrella association for blockchain and cryptocurrencies - UBIK, reports Jutarnji List. 

The organizers expect that the conference in Split will attract more than 300 experts and companies from all over Europe and beyond and announce top speakers, demonstration of the latest technologies, presentations, networking opportunities, and a week of accompanying educational and entertainment activities. The goal of the conference, as announced, is to accelerate the growth and development of the blockchain industry.

On this occasion, the president of UBIK, Vlaho Hrdalo, stated that the third edition of BlockSplit is coming in the most dynamic period of the blockchain industry since its inception.

"I am especially pleased that with the inclusion of UBIK in its organization, BlockSplit continued its development, which began in 2018. Previous editions of this conference represent a highly elevated scale that I believe we can surpass. As we are still the same people who created BlockSplit, the conference in this issue is in many ways a unique connection to the Web3 community of a country. Considering that we are once again in beautiful Split at perhaps the most beautiful time of the year, the satisfaction of all visitors will certainly not be lacking, especially when we discover the names of renowned lecturers that we have not seen in the wider region," said Hrdalo.

The conference program also includes practical workshops, and topics will cover the areas of marketing, law, design, DeFi, NFT, and gaming. Presentations and lectures by leading experts in the industry are also planned. Thus, visitors will be able to listen live to experts in the development of blockchain technology and learn about new processes for developing WEB3 products. In addition, numerous domestic and international companies will be represented at the exhibition part of the conference. A hackathon will also be held from May 27 to 29. 

Blockchain technology offers several possibilities for solving problems in many sectors, said the European Parliament Office in Croatia when they organized a workshop on blockchain technology in various areas of life and work last year.

The European Union, it was pointed out, believes that the proper use of blockchain technology can provide significant benefits to the European industry, economy, and society. Blockchain technology is essential for the digital transformation of the economy and is part of the EU's new program, Digital Europe, adopted by the European Parliament in April 2021. The program aims to invest in digital infrastructure so that strategic technologies can help strengthen Europe's competitiveness, move to a green economy and ensure technological sovereignty.

Blockchain technology, as noted, allows people and organizations who may not know each other to agree and permanently record information without third-party authorization mutually. By creating trust in data in ways that were not possible before, blockchain can revolutionize how we share information and perform digital transactions.

It should be noted that digitalization plays a crucial role in all EU policies, and digital solutions, as stated on the website of the EP Office in Croatia, provide significant opportunities and are critical to Europe's recovery and its competitive position in the global economy.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

December the 2nd, 2021 - Electrocoin and Konzum are the main players in the currently largest cooperation in the domestic cryptocurrency market - after implementing the service for several months and then testing it out for a couple of weeks, Konzum cryptocurrency shopping/payment is now permitted.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, in the near future, services will be available in Konzum stores; for a start in 60 of them where they have self-serving cash registers, and soon after in all 630 small, medium and large stores throughout the Republic of Croatia.

Noticing the growing interest in the use of cryptocurrencies in the world, including right here in Croatia, the largest domestic retail chain, Konzum, decided to turn more strongly to the younger population that has more or less totally embraced the cryptoworld, all in cooperation with Electrocoin, one of the fastest growing Croatian cryptocurrency brokerage companies.

"This is definitely a step into something new for Konzum and for the retail market in Croatia. We're offering our customers some new opportunities and technologies. Konzum has proven its leading position in the market so many times when it comes to technological innovations, and we are, as with the introduction of Google Pay and Apple Pay, happy to have a new opportunity to improve the shopping experience in line with the latest trends. These investments are in line with the process of digital transformation of the Fortenova Group, including Konzum as its largest member,'' stated Uros Kalinic, a member of the Management Board of Konzum who is in charge of finance and informatics.

The collaboration to make Konzum cryptocurrency payment possible began one year ago when Electrocoin experts brought Konzum's team closer to the crypto market here in Croatia and showcased the affinity of domestic consumers for it.

"As this isn't the first time that we've introduced new opportunities, our team is already in tune with it. The field of informatics, led by director Jozo Dzakul and director of the business applications sector Ines Barbir, is always up to the task, so this time too there were no surprises during the project. We applied an agile methodology for the project, it lasted a couple of months, several Konzum systems were included in the project, and Konzum Informatics, mStart, the team from Eletrocoin and other partners were all included. The testing itself lasted a couple of weeks and several teams participated in it, a total of about 20 people,'' said Kalinic.

In this pre-Christmas period, the weight of what's in the average shopping trolley increases, so this period is a great opportunity for customers to try out this method of payment. Kalinic pointed that out that he is happy that they can conclude a challenging year with such an innovation.

"Just like back in 2002 when we recognised the value of the market for buying groceries over the Internet, now we're looking forward yet again and recognising the trends that are yet to come. Payment with cryptocurrencies is certainly still in its infancy here in Croatia, but the experience of our partner Electrocoin justifies this investment. Just as our customers use banking applications for electronic payments, we believe that this service will get its share as far as transactions go as well. From year to year we see a decrease in the share of cash transactions, which is logical in the age of digitalisation and coronavirus, when cash payments have been discouraged for epidemiological reasons.

This is a new option for some of our customers who are more technologically advanced, but also own cryptocurrencies. When we talk about the industry, I expect that some other chains will follow us in this step forward and that they'll also recognise the potential in this new market segment. During the test period, we tried to anticipate possible obstacles that might await us. Of course, we're ready for surprises and quick reaction in case of the need for some adjustments or corrections in the system,'' added Kalinic.

Thanks, among other things, to Electrocoin, the Republuc of Croatia is growing in parallel with the rest of the world in the fast-growing cryptocurrency market. In February this year, they launched a kind of revolution in Croatia by announcing cooperation with Tifon, at whose fuel stations throughout Croatia people can pay for fuel in cryptocurrencies.

This cooperation made them accessible throughout Croatia, but also helped their visibility, which gave Electrocoin additional impetus, given that many new customers contacted them after the news of their cooperation with Tifon.

“Traffic is growing; last month, with 8.8 million kuna, we almost reached the ''mythical'' 10 million kuna mark, which two years ago looked like a figure from the imagination, but this cooperation helped us attract both traders and buyers,'' pointed out the head of Electrocoin, Nikola Skoric, who, back in February, announced several projects with some big players. He believes that their cooperation with Konzum and the ability to make Konzum cryptocurrency purchases will further increase the company's turnover and enable them greater visibility, but this time - at the European level.

For more, check our dedicated lifestyle section.

November the 10th, 2021 - One Istrian communal company from Buzet is more than ready to delve deeper into the more digital age we live in by accepting cryptocurrency payments.

A more digital future is rapidly approaching, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced the world to step up its game in that regard, Croatia in particular. While many laughed or scratched their heads at the advent of Bitcoin several years ago, plus all of the cryptocurrencies which have appeared since, some are busy adapting.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, when it comes to the future, one Istrian communal company, Istarski vodovod from Buzet, is more than ready. This utility company supplies vital, or at least the most important liquid to a large part of Istria, including tourist destinations such as Rovinj, Porec and Umag, which includes a large number of homeowners from other countries.

Those to whom decentralised money sounds appealing will be happy as this Istrian communal company has introduced the possibility of payment in cryptocurrency, becoming the very first Croatian utility company that allows users to pay their bills in this manner.

''We want to adapt to all modern methods of payment, and in the case of cryptocurrencies, we want to be partially ahead of our time. With the new services and possibilities, we will make it easier and faster for our consumers/customers to settle their monthly bills for their water services, especially for those who need to settle their obligations from abroad. We aren't going to stop there either because our intention over the next period is to digitise and simplify the process of applying for a new water connection so that most procedures can be performed via a web application without unnecessary paperwork and visits to our business units,'' said Mladen Nezic, the director of this Istrian communal company.

This means that when it comes to accessing water from the Istrian waterworks, you can pay with the usual credit and debit cards, mobile digital wallets Aircash and KEKS pay as well as cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple, EOS, Stellar, Bitcoin cash and Ethereum.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

Sveta Nedelja, which is home to the famous Rimac Automobili owned by beloved and wildly successful Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, is planning to introduce something quite extraordinary and it will be among the first in the world to make such a move.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continuing to capture the majority (if not all) of the attention of the world's media, including that of Croatia which has seen an unfortunate and rapid rise in infections over the last few days following a tennis event held in Zadar, it's difficult to come across positive, non-coronavirus related stories.

As stated, Sveta Nedelja in continental Croatia is going to bring in something that will provide some more positive reading material as the pandemic and the negative economic consequences caused by it continue.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 26th of June, 2020, in addition to using standard money, Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb is also introducing a cryptocurrency processing service that can be used when paying for public services carried out by Sveta Nedelja. According to Mayor Dario Zurovec, investing in technology is the only way forward.

''Our vision is to be a town for doing smart business and leading a comfortable life, we're keeping pace with the times, and we often like to be leaders in change,'' Zurovec stated.

According to Mayor Dario Zurovec, investing in technology is the only way forward.

''In Sveta Nedelja, there are companies that use cryptocurrencies, such as Mate Rimac's Greyp Bikes, with which people will also be able to pay their utility fees. By introducing such services, we're sending a message that we are facing the future and that we're ready to dictate the pace of change,'' assured Zurovec.

This move might seem confusing to some who don't follow such trends, but it regards the conversion of cryptocurrency into Croatian kuna, according to the valid exchange rate at the time of the service. It will be performed through Electrocoin's PayCek cryptocurrency payment processing platform, which will process the cryptocurrency when people pay for public services carried out by Sveta Nedelja.

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