ICP is now accepted in 137 supermarkets in Switzerland. Here’s how it actually works

Internet Computer Protocol ($ICP) and ckBTC is currently accepted 137 or more as a payment method spar It operates supermarkets throughout Switzerland and serves a customer base of 1.4 million people. The integration was made by Swiss cryptocurrency payments specialist DFX through its OpenCryptoPay platform and went live this month.

How does crypto payments work at SPAR Switzerland?

payment process the work From the QR code displayed at checkout. Customers scan the code with their mobile device, approve the transaction through their cryptocurrency wallet, and the payment is completed within seconds. DFX receives cryptocurrencies from customers and immediately pays the equivalent amount directly to SPAR in Swiss francs. This means that retailers will not hold any cryptocurrencies on their books.

The system supports over 30 different crypto wallets and is designed to be as familiar as existing mobile payment tools.

“Payments are as intuitive for customers as TWINT or Apple Pay, which is important, so making payments with cryptocurrencies truly suitable for everyday life,” said Andre Scheler, Managing Director of SPAR Switzerland.

What is ckBTC?

ckBTC (Chain Key Bitcoin) Bitcoin-backed tokens that run natively on the Internet Computer Blockchain. Unlike other chain-wrapped Bitcoin products, ckBTC does not rely on bridges or third-party custodians. Minted and redeemed directly. $ICP Network using chain key encryption. $ICP Smart contracts hold and sign transactions on an external blockchain. This makes it faster and cheaper to use than bridged Bitcoin alternatives.

Why did SPAR Switzerland choose crypto payments?

This decision was taken in 2024 by SPAR Handels AG, which also wanted to reduce its dependence on large payment acquirers. Traditional point-of-sale (POS) payments involve a card network and a payment service provider (PSP), each of which splits all transactions.

Cryptocurrency payments eliminate those middlemen. DFX trading fees are only 0.20%, which is significantly lower than standard PSP fees in retail.

Scherer explained:

“We believe that cryptocurrencies will become even more important as a payment method in the retail industry in the coming years, in part because they make retailers less dependent on large acquirers.”

How back office processing works

One of the practical challenges of cryptocurrency payments at retail scale is accounting reconciliation. SPAR addressed this issue by working with Matchbox, a software solution from Swiss company treibauf that SPAR was already using for financial reconciliation.

Matchbox has been expanded to process cryptocurrencies as a new payment type. Encrypted payment data from the POS is automatically matched with a list of transactions from DFX, including a 0.20% commission, and everything is posted to SPAR’s internal account without manual intervention.

DFX CEO Cyril Thommen explained the goal:

“Setup is very simple and intuitive for everyone. That applies just as much to the payment process at the register as it does to processing cryptocurrency payments in the back office.”

What is the broader context for? $ICP Now?

The deployment of SPAR adds real transaction volume to the Internet computer network at a time when the DFINITY Foundation is actively seeking to increase on-chain usage as part of its economic strategy.

January 2026, DFINITY Founder Dominic Williams published The white paper is titled “Mission 70 and Accelerating the Internet Computer Economy.” This document provides an overview of the reduction plan. $ICP Token inflation will rise by at least 70% by the end of 2026, falling from 9.72% in January 2026 to 2.92% by the end of the year.

This strategy has two parts.

• Supply side reduction (Targeting 44% reduction): Lower voting rewards, revised dissolve delay bonus structure, reduced rewards for older Gen-1 node hardware, cap on total voting reward pool.
• Demand side acceleration (Targeting 26% reduction): Details $ICP This is where real-world integrations such as SPAR rollouts directly contribute.

What is $ICP Inflation and why is it important?

$ICPLike many proof-of-stake networks, it rewards participants who lock their holdings to vote on governance proposals, and mints new tokens to reward the node providers who operate the network’s infrastructure. When the network launched on Genesis in May 2021, these rewards were set high to attract early participants who faced long lock-up periods with limited liquidity.

DFINITY’s position is that these incentives are no longer needed at the same level and that continuing to mint at current rates will dilute existing holders without adding commensurate value to the network. Mission 70 is a systemic response to that imbalance.

conclusion

$ICP is currently accepted at over 137 SPAR Switzerland locations and comes with near-zero fees, no bridging infrastructure, and automatic back-office reconciliation capabilities built in from the start. Integration covers both $ICP ckBTC uses ChainKey technology to settle transactions natively on internet computers without any custodians or wrapped token intermediaries.

At the network level, DFINITY is working on reductions. $ICP Inflation will increase by more than 70% by the end of 2026, and increased real-world usage will form a direct part of that economic equation.

1. Dfinity Foundation on X: Posted on March 26th

2. Report by Digital Clock Observatory: Spar Switzerland expands cryptocurrency payments across mobile app

3. research paper Written by Dominic Williams, Founder and Principal Scientist, DFINITY Foundation: Mission 70 and Accelerating the Internet Computer Economy