The NCR Silver POS system for small businesses announced it will soon offer merchants the ability to accept bitcoins as payment.

Bitcoin support, which will be integrated with NCR Silver by the end of 2014, will be free to merchants. After registering with a bitcoin processor, all merchants have to do is activate bitcoin as a payment option in the POS back office within NCR Silver, according to a news release. Consumers, meanwhile, pay using a mobile bitcoin “wallet” app which is available in either the Apple App Store or Google Play store.

Reggie Kimble, NCR Small Business director of business development, said one of the biggest reasons why the integration was added was to offer merchants more flexibility.

"Gone are the days when cash and cards were the only payment options available to customers shopping at small businesses," Kimble said in the release. "Offering bitcoin as a payment alternative allows small businesses the flexibility they need to better serve their growing number of customers who prefer digital payment solutions."