Many of FFW’s clients understand that open source isn’t just a kind of software. It’s a social movement, and one with growing implications for people around the world.

Recently, we helped our clients at LUSH double-down on their commitment to open-source by integrating bitcoins as a payment method on their UK website. LUSH is committed to sustainable, ethical practices, and as the LUSH team writes on their blog, adopting the open-source currency is an important step in opening up their organization to work with customers, suppliers, and charity groups across borders.

LUSH Finance Manager Mike West states: “Accepting Bitcoin is very exciting for Lush. With Bitcoin, customers from all around the world will pay the same for our products, free from volatile currency fluctuations and lofty bank charges. Cryptocurrencies are the future of global trade and we want to ensure that we are prepared to move into this new digital era.”

Using open-source cryptocurrency for global equality

LUSH is able to accept bitcoins through integration with BitPay, a third-party service that allows users to pay with Bitcoins. BitPay itself handles the real-time conversion of the product price from GBP to bitcoins, and already has integration modules for Drupal and Drupal Commerce. The FFW team integrated BitPay's module with LUSH’s existing commerce logic, allowing users to make their transactions through Bitcoin’s invoicing system without leaving the LUSH website.

Adding Bitcoins to LUSH’s Drupal website has given LUSH’s customers around the world the ability to pay the same amount for their products, regardless of currency exchange fluctuations. As LUSH writes on its blog, "Bitcoin allows more transparent and secure transactions with no hefty charges, exchange rates or fees… The decision is the first step in a wider strategy to delve into the Blockchain community and provide an ethical viewpoint on its possibilities.” FFW is excited to have been a part of this project, and can’t wait to see where the future of open-source cryptocurrency leads LUSH.