MoneyGram will offer a service for the conversion of digital currency into cash at its retail locations in the U.S. through a partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinme.
The partnership utilizes MoneyGram's mobile and API-driven payments platform and Coinme's proprietary cryptocurrency exchange and custody technology, bringing bitcoin to thousands of new point-of-sale locations. The partners plan to expand the bitcoin sales and cash payouts into international markets in the second half of 2021.
“This innovative partnership opens our business to an entirely new customer segment as we are the first to pioneer a crypto-to-cash model by building a bridge with Coinme to connect bitcoin to local fiat currency,” Alex Holmes, MoneyGram's chairman and CEO, said in a press release Wednesday. “Our unique, global network is an incredibly valuable asset, and we’re excited to open our platform to Coinme as we increasingly look to capture new growth by monetizing our network to new use-cases.”
Dallas-based MoneyGram says the ease of the bitcoin conversion process makes it appropriate for customers who may be interested in utilizing bitcoin for the first time.
With less than 20,000 cryptocurrency kiosks in the world today, the MoneyGram and Coinme partnership will further expand access to bitcoin and potentially other digital currencies by creating thousands of new point-of-sale locations to buy and sell cryptocurrency.
“MoneyGram has spent more than 80 years building one of the world’s largest P2P payment networks,” Neil Bergquist, Coinme's CEO, said in the release. “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."
The arrangement represents "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,” Bergquist added.
Seattle-based Coinme has operated a licensed cryptocurrency exchange since 2014, saying its mission was to make the process easier for buying digital currencies for all consumers. The company will power more than 20,000 physical locations through its partnerships with Coinstar and MoneyGram.
Its API helps "crypto-enable" legacy financial systems as well as make its consumer products suite available for a secure way to buy, sell, store and manage digital currencies.
MoneyGram says it has expanded its reach in serving nearly 150 million people across the globe over the past five years.
