Canadians Can Now Use Crypto to Purchase Cars

Cion Digital announced its expansion into the Canadian market to enable auto dealers to support cryptocurrency transactions.

“With almost half of Millennials now owning crypto, we are delighted to help Canadian dealers support this fast-growing market of buyers who demand more financing and purchasing options at the dealership,” said Fred Brothers, president, and co-founder of Cion Digital. “The Cion Digital platform offers significantly lower loan rates and a first-of-its-kind lending marketplace. We help car dealers support the future generations of car buyers who often have non-prime credit ratings because established credit systems are tough for newer entrants to the market.”

Two Canadian dealers now offer this service to their customers: Budds’ family-owned automotive stores and services in Southern Ontario and Farquhar Chrysler, based north of Toronto.

“We’re excited to announce we have partnered with Cion Digital to offer car buyers a brand new payment experience. With more and more customers investing in cryptocurrency, the time is right to offer easy-to-use crypto payment options and crypto secured loans,” commented Chris Budd, general manager at Budds’. “We are planning to launch crypto payments first with our BMW, Land Rover, and Jaguar locations and crypto secured loans shortly after. We are also retailers of Subaru, Mazda, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Mini, and look forward to expanding access to crypto for all brands. We’re proud to be one of the first dealerships in Canada to join the crypto evolution of payments.”

Car buyers can choose to place a deposit on a vehicle with cryptocurrency, make a down payment, or pay for the vehicle in full. Car buyers can also use cryptocurrency as collateral to qualify for low-interest loans with lenders in Cion Digital’s lending marketplace.

Transactions are confirmed on the blockchain and transferred in compliance with AML and KYC regulations directly to the custodian in either crypto or fiat (as requested by the dealer) in just a few seconds. Dealers can then choose when they want to transfer settled funds via ACH into their bank account.

“As we kept seeing more and more millennials and future generations turn to crypto, we knew we needed to find a quick and innovative solution to support these new car buyers,” said Ryan Farquhar, owner, and president of Farquhar Chrysler. “Fortunately, Cion Digital allows car buyers to buy with crypto and for those needing financing, Cion Digital will allow our car buyers to access a lending marketplace with competitive rates in real-time at our dealership. We know that having super-prime credit scores is unrealistic for younger generations so finding a process to support them without relying strictly on antiquated credit scoring was essential for us.”