As the adoption of encryption continues to grow among mainstream payment services, MoneyGram is set to join the ranks, according to media reports.MoneyGram has taken cryptocurrencies further into the mainstream by allowing bitcoin to be bought and sold for cash at thousands of physical locations in the US.
MoneyGram International Inc, an International fast money transfer company, will let Americans withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings in cash, marking another step in mainstream financial institutions’ embrace of nascent digital currencies.
MoneyGram announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with bitcoin ATM operator Coinme to facilitate bitcoin transaction services. The two partners will initially launch bitcoin cash transactions in MoneyGram’s 12,000 stores, and plan to expand the network to 20,000 stores in 32 states by the third quarter.
In addition, the two companies are considering expanding beyond the US in the second half of the year.
Many companies have built large cryptocurrency ATM networks around the world, and Coinme is a major player in the United States. While crypto ATMs greatly simplify the digital currency purchase process, the associated costs are prohibitive.
MoneyGram at Walmart will charge an extra $2. These fees are very high compared to the fees of crypto exchanges. But they are certainly bringing cryptocurrencies to the masses.
MoneyGram and Coinme charge 4% of each transaction and a fixed fee of USD 2.75, according to Coindesk.
These fees are very high compared to the fees of crypto exchanges. But they will certainly bring cryptocurrency to the masses.
This collaboration is not MoneyGram’s first in the crypto space, as it is a partner with Ripple and has received significant investment from Ripple. However, MoneyGram severed its ties with Ripple Labs after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple alleging that Ripple is an unregistered security.
Financial services companies are increasingly making moves in the cryptocurrency space. PayPal now allows users in the United States to trade cryptocurrencies and use them to pay at its millions of merchants. MasterCard said it would begin supporting certain cryptocurrencies in its network this year, while Visa now supports dollar-supported tokens usD Coin for cryptocurrency payments.
Meanwhile, companies like Tesla, Square and MicroStrategy have all taken the unusual step of using corporate money to buy bitcoin.
From PayPal to Visa and Mastercard to MoneyGram, it’s becoming an industry-wide trend for fintech and payment services companies to roll out some form of crypto-related functionality.