MoneyGram to Enable Retail Bitcoin Buying, Selling in the U.S.
- The collaboration between the payment service provider and Coinme will allow U.S. customers to buy and sell Bitcoin at 12,000 locations across the country.
- While initially targeting U.S. customers, the new service will also be available at “select international markets” by the end of the year.
MoneyGram logo mounted above the entrance of a branch in Bucharest, Romania, 1 January 2021. Shutterstock
U.S. citizens will now have easier time buying and selling Bitcoin at physical locations thanks to a new partnership between MoneyGram and Coinme, MoneyGram said in a press release on 12 May.
According to the announcement, the collaboration between the payment service provider and Coinme will enable U.S. customers to not only buy, but also sell their Bitcoin holdings at the 12,000 MoneyGram retail locations around the country. While the partnership will initially focus on U.S. customers, MoneyGram plans to expand the offering to “select international markets” in the second half of 2021. The CEO of Coinme, Neil Bergquist, said in a statement:
“By integrating its global infrastructure with our licensed crypto exchange technology, we can enable the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies across its system using cash. This is a major milestone for the bitcoin and cryptocurrency communities, and for the millions of people who will benefit from a trusted, easy and affordable onramp to digital currency.”
The new service targets customers who are interested in utilizing bitcoin for the first time, and will expand the existing crypto-to-cash model represented by the almost 20,000 crypto kiosks around the world. Coinme and MoneyGram will charge customers a 4% fee — plus an additional $2.75 ($5.75 for Walmart-based locations) — for the new service.
MoneyGram follows in the footsteps of PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard, all of which have launch some form of a crypto-related feature.
The new service is not the first time MoneyGram has dealt with cryptocurrencies. The firm was a major partner of Ripple up until recently, and has received millions of dollars to use the XRP token for cross-border transactions. The two firms ended their relationship back in March due to the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Ripple lawsuit.
- The partnership will see MoneyGram connect its network to the Stellar blockchain, allowing connected wallets to access its global retail platform.
- The financial service company will also work with Circle to enable “near-instant backend settlement” using the USDC stablecoin.
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- ‘MoneyGram as a Service’ will enable enterprises to access the company’s vast network.
- The integration with G-Coin will offer access to gold as a hedge against currency risk.
- Officially announced in June 2019, the partnership between the two firms has “processed billions of dollars through RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity”.
- The fallout between the two firms did not come as a surprise, with MoneyGram having suspended its agreement with Ripple back in February.