The British fintech Checkout.com, which specializes in online payments, announced on June 7 a partnership with the cryptocurrency funds transfer company Fireblocks. This agreement will allow users to use stablecoins when transacting.
Guarantee transactions at any time of the day
The London-based start-up, valued at $40 billion, will allow its customers to receive and pay using the stablecoin USDC, a cryptocurrency backed by the value of the dollar. With this new feature, businesses will be able to issue payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even on weekends and holidays.
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If Checkout.com is betting on cryptocurrencies, it is because fiat currencies do not ensure exchanges at all times. Ran Goldi, VP of Payments for Fireblocks, explains that “ Traditionally, business payments are made exclusively from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, with the exception of public holidays. In addition, the grouped processing of payments made on weekends, pending validation by the banks, delays them by several working days. With Checkout.com, businesses will no longer be limited by arbitrary checkout times “.
The British company has already tried this feature with a few hands-on customers. In total, more than $300 million in transactions were facilitated during these few months of testing.
Regulators are wary
Whether for Jess Houlgravehead of crypto strategy for Checkout, “ [les stablecoins] will play a fundamental role in improving the landscape of underlying payments the authorities are cautious after the collapse of the TerraUSD in May. Stablecoins are meant to be digital assets designed to provide stability in the highly volatile cryptocurrency market. Sold as a reliable cryptocurrency, these digital tokens showed last month, these digital tokens have proven that they can be a risky bet.
This fragility worries regulators around the world. Europe is considering a directive, under the acronym Mica for Market in crypto assets, aimed at regulating stablecoins on European territory. Other countries have already implemented regulation of these digital assets. This is the case of Japan, which recently adopted a bill. This only authorizes the issuance of stablecoins on the archipelago by approved banks and registered financial institutions. In the United States, the reflections are only at a preliminary stage but Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury informed Congress that it was necessary to regulate this sector.
In the event that the USDC stablecoin crashes, regulators want to be ready to limit the damage.