Verrency and Coinify are teaming up to enable customers to spend virtual currency via banks’ existing payment cards.
Consequently, banks can offer customers the ability to use virtual currency at any merchant.
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Specifically, the partnership empowers banks utilising Verrency’s middleware platform to integrate virtual currency funding sources and digital wallets. Moreover they can do so within their existing payments rails.
At the same time, it avoids the need for customers to use specially issued prepaid or debit cards.
Instead, customers can make payments anywhere using virtual currency via existing payments products, including their physical cards and digital wallets.
The service uses Verrency’s high-performance value-added payments technology layer. And so a bank can route payments to different funding sources authorised by the bank. This includes custodial or non-custodial wallet containing digital assets.
Coinify supports the selection and connection of the wallet infrastructure, which may be either internal or external to the bank.
Verrency and Coinify partnership a ‘game changer’
Verrency CEO David Link says that the partnership is a game changer. In particular, it will increase the utility of token-based assets among major financial institutions.
“Virtual currencies are transitioning in the next few years from being speculative investments into a smaller number of mainstream assets.
“This will see more government or fiat-backed stable tokens, or even tokens simply as a payment element. So it is critical that banks have the technology in place to actually allow the usage of such virtual assets.”
He adds that it is crucial that this runs across bank’s consumer-centred legacy payments rails. Mainstream usage of tokens or virtual assets will not occur by connecting the merchant-side of the equation.
“It simply will take too long to achieve ubiquity, without which there will be no significant usage. By partnering with Coinify, Verrency is now able to enable banks to offer their customers virtual currency and token usage.”
And the use of existing debit and credit cards means that banks avoid costly infrastructure overhaul.
Verrency capital raising
Payment innovation fintech Verrency is headquartered in Melbourne.
Verrency’s API platform provides an overlay to legacy infrastructure. This enables banks to upgrade their customer offerings with digital services including auto-rounding, real-time budgeting notifications and instant loyalty rewards.
In June, Verrency raised A$10m in funding ahead of planned international expansion.
Verrency clients include Emirates NBD and Australian digital challenger Volt.
Virtual currency payment provider Coinify is headquartered in Denmark.
