The team at Boston Auto Wreckers always has its eye on the future, carefully anticipating its next move according to the pulse of Canada’s automotive industry. After all, a combination of knowledge and cutting-edge thinking is the key to business as an auto recycler—especially in an era where the industry is being squeezed from every side.

Luckily for Toronto’s Boston Auto Wreckers, the combined experience of co-owners and siblings Mike Maio and Lidia Correia—who took over the business from their father, Fernando Maio—has enabled the facility always been on the forefront of industry change. Since 1975, the Toronto-based recycler has made a point One of Boston Auto Wreckers’ latest endeavours has been the addition of Bitcoin, a popular cryptocurrency, as a form of payment for recycled parts. In the face of big-name credit companies charging hefty percentagesper- transaction, the addition of cryptocurrency payments opening its services up to a whole new world of online possibilities.

Cryptocurrency relies on peer-to-peer technology and are decentralized in nature. In other words, no central bank or government regulates or backs the cryptocurrency—buyers transfer funds directly to sellers, without a third party to process payments. Essentially, the middleman—the credit card company— is removed, and the cryptocurrency owner holds on to it through an encryption only they have a key to.

In a world where data breaches and hackers are becoming more sophisticated and commonplace, cryptocurrency can be extremely appealing to tech-savvy customers looking for a safer way to do business. As any recycler accepting credit would know, small often face fees of around 25 cents for each card swipe, plus two to four percent of the transaction total, depending on the card. Crypto’s decentralized setup also protects merchants from fraudulent chargebacks. The transactions, like cash, are final, because no third party can reverse charges. Moreover, accepting cryptocurrency offers another advantage by giving customers an additional way to pay while providing an extra layer of protection for their information. Despite the tests of 2020, Boston Auto Wreckers continues to stand strong. And, if one thing is for certain for the company in 2021, it’s that there are far more bold changes to come.