The University of Nicosia, Cyprus' biggest private university has set a new world record for becoming the first institution to allow Bitcoin, the digital currency, for tuition and fee. The new financial transaction will be effective, starting this spring, across the entire University of Nicosia system, which includes online programs and affiliated schools.
"Digital currency will create more efficient services and will serve as a mechanism for spreading financial services to under-banked regions of the world", Dr. Christos Vlachos, the university's Chief Financial Officer, said in a statement.
Vlachos further said that bitcoin represents an alternative way of paying tuition for foreign students from countries, mainly in Africa, where traditional banking transactions are not feasible.
"We have over 2,000 online students and Bitcoin gives them a way of payment that is easy, readily available and most of all cost-free," Vlachos said, Cyprus Mail reports.
Bitcoin is not supervised by any central authority and was first introduced in January 2009 by 'Satoshi Nakatomo.'
The digital currency is stored in 'electronic wallets,' or codes, and can be easily transferred from one wallet to another through online network transactions.
Talking about the possible fallouts of Bitcoins, Vlachos said that criminal activities are associated with every other currency, not linked to any particular one.
"It's the authorities' job to enforce the law and maintain order. Criminals won't disappear if Bitcoin is retired. We chose to embrace the positive side of Bitcoin", Vlachos said.
Students who wish to use Bitcoin for tuition and fee can successfully complete their financial paperwork through online merchant processing service or by paying directly to the university's finance office.
"The intention of this initiative is to ease transmission difficulties for certain students and to build our own practical knowledge about this field, not to engage in currency speculation," the University spokesperson told GeekWire.
