American Marketing Group (AMG) has announced it’s now allowing all the travel companies it does business with to accept cryptocurrency payments through its booking platform Trip Xpress.
AMG Is Opening Itself Up to Crypto Payments
The move is pushing the goals of bitcoin and its digital counterparts closer to being achieved. What many people likely forget is that while bitcoin and many of its crypto cousins have taken on either speculative or even hedge-like statuses in recent years, many of them were initially designed to serve as payment tools. They were built to push checks, credit cards, and fiat currencies to the side, but this has been a relatively slow journey given the volatility that continues to drag them down.
It is extremely hard to understand when bitcoin and its crypto family will go up or down when it comes to their prices. Many stores and companies have been reluctant to say “yes” when it comes to accepting crypto payments for this reason, and to a degree, we can’t blame them.
Consider the following scenario: someone walks into a store and buys $50 worth of merchandise with bitcoin. For one reason or another, the store doesn’t trade the BTC into fiat right away and about 24 hours go by. From there, the price of BTC goes down and that $50 becomes $40. The customer gets to keep everything he or she bought, but the store has lost money in the end. Is this a fair situation? Not everyone thinks so.
That’s what makes enterprises like AMG so important. They understand the initial purposes of bitcoin and digital currencies and are trying to transform them into usable tools that everyday people can benefit from.
Among the clients working with AMG that will have the option to accept crypto payments is Travel Savers, headed by COO Jim Mazza. In a recent interview, he commented:
With over $1 trillion in market capital, we felt it was time to make it possible for holders of crypto to book travel directly with our agencies. We have been working for months with some of the top banks and exchanges to facilitate the process.
The crypto payment program is set to be launched in 2023 and will first be open only to those purchasing specific cruise line travel packages. From there, things will be expanded should they prove popular and useful enough amongst present AMG customers.
Celebrating 50 Years
Not long ago, the company had its 50th anniversary and celebrated through a travel market expo in the city of Las Vegas. Chief marketing officer Nicole Mazza mentioned in an interview:
There is so much to celebrate with our 50th anniversary, but it goes beyond that. Together with our advisors and partners, we’ve accomplished so much over the years.
