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The fintech Codego Ltd. has launched its Cryptogateway software, which enables merchants in 33 countries to accept cross-border in-person and e-commerce transactions in cryptocurrency and receive the funds in fiat money in an IBAN account. IBAN accounts are typically used to hold funds arising from cross-border transactions.
The new service, which works with the payment services SEPA and SEPA Instant, comes as merchants and processors continue to search for technologies that can ease merchant acceptance of cryptocurrencies, which have been growing in popularity more as assets than as a medium of exchange. SEPA, which stands for Single Euro Payment Exchange, serves to standardize electronic payments in euros throughout Europe.
The new gateway handles Bitcoin, the most popular coin, as well as Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The stablecoins USDT and USDC, tokens tied to the U.S. dollar, are also eligible, according to Codego. On the other end of the transaction, merchants receive settlements in any of 35 fiat currencies. The transactions carry no transaction fees for merchants, says Milan-based Codego, which was formed in 2020.
The company has offices in 12 countries and works with more than 30 card processors, card issuers, banks, and gateways, according to its Web site.
In related news, the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin said it has settled with the U.S. Department of Justice in an agreement by which the exchange will stop operating in the U.S. market for at least two years. Kucoin, based in the Seychelles, late Monday pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and will pay more than $297 million in fines and other penalties, according to Reuters.
The agreement also calls for all charges against the exchange’s founders to be dropped so long as they meet certain conditions. Despite its legal woes, the coin’s value has shot up this week. KuCoin ranks as the 67th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to Coinmarketcap.com, which tracks nearly 11,000 tokens. Early on Tuesday it was selling for $13.89, compared to $11.41 six days ago. That was good for a market cap of $1.7 billion
“Surprisingly, KCS$KCS has surged 25% this week, showing investor confidence in KuCoin’s potential to rebuild trust despite the challenges,” noted one commentator who posted on KuCoin’s Coinmarketcap page.
Earlier this month, KuCoin launched KuCoin Pay, a service aimed at easing crypto acceptance for merchants. Transactions are triggered either through the KuCoin app or via scanning a QR code. The KuCoin exchange began operating in September 2017 in Singapore.
