The largest franchise in the world, Subway, is testing the Lightning Network layer-2 Bitcoin payment solution in Berlin, Germany, and receiving encouraging results.

As one of the world's largest franchises by number, Subway operates 36,900 locations in 104 countries. Subway is testing Bitcoin payments at three locations in Berlin, the capital of Germany.

Daniel Hinze, the owner of the Subway outlet, has offered a 50 percent discount to Bitcoin users for a week. In the store, Hinze has implemented a point-of-sale solution with Lightning-enabled QR codes that customers are able to scan, and the transaction takes place smoothly and quickly with the help of Lipa, a Swiss Bitcoin company. 

"Five years ago, I started to deal with cryptocurrencies; and in the last two years, I have dealt very intensively with the topic of Bitcoin. With that in mind, I've decided that [Bitcoin] could be the better money system", said Hinze. 

In contrast to Mastercard or Visa payment rails, which charge merchants double to triple the rate, Lipa charges them 1%. According to Lipa's CEO, Bastian Feder, the company's mission is to make Bitcoin "basically irresistible". He stated, “It’s 2.5% to 4% depending on the contract from the merchant. If it’s a business card, there’s 0.5% on top of that. […] And if it’s a foreign business credit card, you pay up to 7%, and you don’t know until the end of the month.” 

Subway is run as a franchise, which means the owner of the location will accept payments, not the Subway corporation. With more business owners becoming aware of digital currency, franchise businesses may eventually have to consider accepting bitcoin.