- Cryptocurrency platform Bitso, and fintech companies Tribal and Stellar Development, announced a transcontinental alliance.
- The objective is to facilitate payments, made my small companies in Mexico and Latin America in pesos, to suppliers in the United States.
The alliance, announced by Mexican technology companies Bitso and Tribal with American non-profit foundation Stellar Development, will allow the financial services offered to expand into a much broader portfolio of business clients and users, not only in Mexico but in the rest of Latin America as well.
Bitso is one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the country, while Tribal offers solutions for business payments. The firms formed an agreement that will facilitate payments from small Mexican companies to international suppliers in the United States and other countries on the continent.
"This service will allow SMEs in Mexico to make their payments in pesos to suppliers in the United States, making them receive them in dollars,"
Tribal said this week, as reported by Expansión.com.
On the Flipside
- The objective of the agreement is to support some 52 million SMEs operating in Latin America which need to make payments to companies in the U.S. Tribal explained.
The business involves a potential market of around $175,000 million dollars in the entire region. However, most of the business is concentrated in Mexico as it is the country that holds the most opportunity due to its proximity to the U.S. and its existing free trade agreement with the country.
Cross-border payments made through Tribal will use the services of the open source Stellar Network, a decentralized, sustainable network that serves to “store and move money” for various financial products and services, allowing transactions to be made across different currencies, as well as handling the issuance of cryptocurrencies.
Tribal plans to offer support to SMEs in the rest of Latin America through the use of artificial intelligence. The company reported that small firms in the region will receive support in terms of operating expenses and financial management through corporate multi-currency Visa cards.
Business cards offer lines of credit, spending controls, and a payroll service for employees and contractors, Tribal explained. The company has agreements with various banks, financial services, and payment platforms, including HSBC, Nubank, Visa, American Express, Experian, Marqeta, Mercadolibre and Didi Pay, among others, throughout the continent.
"Bitso and Tribal share a common mission of providing top-notch financial services for SMEs in Latin America,"
Bitso’s product manager Carlos Cota said in a statement.
"Our participation in providing avenues for the movement of funds from Mexican companies to Americans reflects our belief in the potential of cryptocurrency to revolutionize payment transactions in a global digital economy,"
he added.
Why You Should Care
- Bitso recently launched its new ‘Bitso Shift’ wallet, a solution that allows users to send, receive and convert any of the region’s local currencies into any another for cross-border payments.
- The tool is ideal for SMEs that export to other countries in the region, but is also for people who work in the United States.
