Bealls makes move to accept all crypto wallets, leading retail industry

Bealls Inc., the Bradenton-based retailer with more than 660 stores across the country, is adopting a new payment platform. The company says it has become the first national retailer to accept digital currencies from any crypto wallet app across more than a dozen blockchains simultaneously through the use of Flexa, a digital payment provider.

“Our partnership with Flexa is about more than payments; it’s about preparing for the future of commerce and continuing to innovate," Bealls Chairman and CEO Matt Beall says in a statement.

Bealls was founded in 1915 and currently operates stores under the bealls, Bealls Florida and Home Centric banners. All three brands will accept digital currencies, which the company notes is one way it has made technological progress, in addition to providing in-store kiosks and online shopping. In September, the company also announced it was deploying AI systemwide to help inform decision-making from inventory optimization to merchandise management.

“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,” Flexa co-founder Trevor Filter says in a statement.

Flexa, based in New York, provides a platform for Bealls to accept more than 99 digital currencies, including bitcoin, ether and stablecoins, from more than 300 digital currency wallets, according to the statement. It works for mobile, in-app and in-store purchases, with quick transaction speeds and automatic updates as new currencies and wallet apps become available.

“Digital currency will reshape how the world transacts," Beall says, "and Bealls is proud to be at the forefront of that transformation."