Paysafe, the parent company of online money transfer service Skrill, announced this week that the payment platform has integrated an additional 20 cryptocurrencies into its digital wallet, providing users with another legacy onramp to digital assets. Beginning this week, customers outside the United States will have access to 35 cryptocurrencies in total, the company said. Crypto buy and sell services are also available in 48 U.S. states and territories. The newly supported cryptocurrencies include major DeFi assets like Aave, Balancer, Curve, Compound, Synthetix, Uniswap and Sushiswap. Polygon and Dogecoin (DOGE) were also added. Users of NETELLER, another money transfer service …

Global payment giant Visa is moving forward with its commitment to digital currency adoption by approving the issuance of a new Bitcoin (BTC) debit card in Australia. Sydney-based crypto spending app CryptoSpend announced Wednesday that Visa has approved the issuance of a physical debit card that will allow Australians to spend their Bitcoin at local merchants. CryptoSpend co-founders said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review that the new card will be issued by major local payments company Novatti and is expected to hit the market in September. Visa is expected to announce the approval later this week. According …

Following a $1.25 million seed funding round, a cryptocurrency payments and identity management app is moving deeper into decentralized finance. Numio has partnered with zkSync to provide a trustless layer-two solution for payments that it says are instantaneous and as much as 100 times cheaper than transactions on the clogged and expensive Ethereum blockchain. Numio promises peer-to-peer scalability of 2,000 transactions per second. Led by HashKey Capital, the funding round will allow Numio to push into DeFi, including cryptocurrency trading, swaps, pooling, and staking on Ethereum's layer two. Also on the roadmap is support for e-commerce and point-of-sale capability, letting …

Spain-based bank Santander’s U.K. business will no longer be allowing its customers to send payments to Binance, citing warnings from the Financial Conduct Authority. Several replies from Santander’s U.K. Twitter help account today said the bank has “decided to prevent payments” to the world’s biggest crypto exchange in an effort to prevent fraud. The bank reportedly told customers they would still be able to withdraw cash from Binance, but it would be “following the FCA’s warning to consumers” in banning payments. Many Santander account holders expressed negative feelings about the bank’s decision: “As one of your long standing account holders, …

The Bank of Thailand has issued a warning to crypto holders who use their digital assets as a medium of exchange, saying if these practices become widespread it may take strong regulatory measures. In a Thursday statement, the central bank said anyone who engaged in the trade of digital assets for goods and services, as the sender or recipient, could face risks including money laundering, theft, and price volatility. The Bank of Thailand, or BOT, reiterated its position that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are not legal tender in the country and warned of consequences from regulators: “Should …

Cryptocurrency payment provider Simplex has added SEPA Instant to its list of payment methods, giving European partners the ability to move funds into digital assets with greater ease and flexibility. SEPA stands for Single European Payment Arena, which enables payment harmonization across the European Union. With SEPA Instant, credit transfers are processed and settled within seconds. The fully automated process is connected to the traditional payment system but is much faster than traditional bank wires. For Simplex, SEPA Instant is considered a major milestone in promoting seamless adoption of digital assets. Under the new partnership, European users will have the …

The Chinese central bank is “quite worried” about the global financial risks associated with digital currencies, particularly stablecoins, according to a senior official. Fan Yifei, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), expressed concerns over the reportedly serious threat stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), pose to global financial and settlement systems, CNBC reported on Thursday. The official emphasized that the speed of development in private payments systems is “very alarming,” and the PBoC is working against monopolies and the “disorderly expansion of capital,” adding: “Some commercial organizations’ so-called stablecoins, especially global stablecoins, may bring risks and challenges …

Incomm Payments, a global payments provider with over 500,000 points of distribution, has entered into a partnership with Flexa that allows merchants to start accepting cryptocurrency payments in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and dozens of other digital assets. Stefan Happ, Incomm Payments’ president, said the new partnership will enable merchants to capitalize on growing retail adoption of cryptocurrencies: “By integrating with Flexa’s comprehensive solution for digital currency acceptance, we’re helping to unlock powerful consumer spending opportunities for brands and further enrich the consumer experience.” Flexa co-founder Trevor Filter said his platform was designed to “make payments more efficient, accessible, and …

Global payments giant Visa will continue to support the development and adoption of the cryptocurrency industry as part of its business, the company said in its latest crypto update. In an official statement on Wednesday, Visa announced that its crypto-enabled cards processed more than $1 billion in total spending in the first half of 2021. The company noted that Visa is partnering with 50 major companies in the crypto industry as well as crypto card programs enabling users to convert and spend digital currency at 70 million merchants worldwide. Given the size of spending on Visa crypto-linked cards, the company …

Marshall Wace, a London-based hedge fund giant managing about $55 billion in assets, is reportedly planning a major move into cryptocurrency and blockchain investment. The hedge fund firm is preparing to launch a dedicated portfolio, targeting investments in the digital asset industry, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, the report notes that the new initiative will focus on investing in privatelyowned digital finance companies working in areas like blockchain technology and payments systems for digital currencies and stablecoins. It is believed that Marshall Wace’s new digital finance portfolio will be headed by Amit …

A crypto payments gateway says that it now makes it easy for online merchants in Africa to accept Bitcoin at the checkout. Paychant says its tool can be easily integrated into websites, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop and an array of other online stores with a single line of code. This gives retailers access to a growing number of consumers who want to pay using cryptocurrencies. According to Paychant, its infrastructure is simple, secure and convenient — and is geared toward small and large businesses alike. Nonprofit organizations can also accept crypto donations with ease. Customizable widgets are offered that can be …

Barclays’ decision to stop facilitating British customers’ payments to Binance has been met with criticism by the cryptocurrency exchange after a spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the bank acted with “an inaccurate understanding of events.” “We are disappointed that Barclays appears to have taken unilateral action based on what appears to be an inaccurate understanding of events,” the spokesperson said, referring to a recent edict by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) barring Binance Markets Limited from operating in the country. “The FCA notice relates to [Binance Markets Limited], which is a company incorporated in the U.K. and regulated by …