Bitso partners with Circle for US – Mexico payments corridor
“The opportunity for Circle and USDC to be part of making cross-border exchanges seamless between the U.S. and Mexico — the world’s largest exchange corridor — is tremendous.”
Bitso is integrating with payment solutions from Circle in order to help Mexican residents send and receive cross-border payments to or from the United States.
The Latin American crypto exchange boasts more than 3 million users and its Bitso Shift solution will enable cross-border payments powered by crypto for both Mexican businesses and individuals who offer their products or services in the United States.
Circle is the principal operator of the USD Coin (USDC) and will provide the payment infrastructure for Bitso Shift to support 24/7, fast, low-cost, and secure transactions using USDC.
Bitso Shift will enable its users to make deposits and withdrawals via domestic wire transfers, make payments to the U.S. or Mexico, and instantly convert between Mexican Pesos (MXN) and USD-backed stablecoins.
Daniel Vogel, co-founder and CEO of Bitso, said: “At Bitso, we believe crypto’s border-less nature can be leveraged to address some of the financial sector’s most pressing problems. We’re incredibly excited to partner with Circle to offer a regulated, low-cost product that will support Mexican freelancers and businesses to thrive in the global digital economy.”
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, said: “The opportunity for Circle and USDC to be part of making cross-border exchanges seamless between the U.S. and Mexico — the world’s largest exchange corridor — is tremendous. We’re thrilled to be part of Bitso’s innovation demonstrating how blockchain technologies can bring scalable, efficient and cost-effective solutions to market.”
Wire transfers to Bitso Shift are processed in twenty four to forty eight hours through fully regulated institutions.
In-app exchanges between Mexican Pesos and USD-backed stablecoins are processed within seconds at low costs with no minimum balance or transaction volume required, according to Bitso.
The crypto exchange points to existing challenges for Mexicans as the reason for adding the service. Bitso says bank accounts for USD are “limited to individuals in Mexico who live on the northern border, making it difficult for most self-employed individuals and young companies in the rest of the country to open USD accounts and access competitive products and exchange rates”.
Circle company has plans to go public. The blocckhain firm has over $27.5 billion USDC in circulation and is also thinking of becoming a national digital bank in the US.
It remains to be seen how the regulators are going to view this application in the United States as the system has been designed by and for the banking industry which might be feeling threatened by the rise of crypto.
