Financial news

MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI) (“MoneyGram” or the “company”), an organisation working towards the evolution of digital P2P payments, has launched a new service enabling consumers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency via the MoneyGram mobile app.

This feature gives MoneyGram customers in nearly all US states and the District of Columbia the ability to trade and store Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) by using the company’s mobile app.

MoneyGram has added itself to the ever growing list of organisations looking to bridge the crypto and blockchain world to real life use cases. Some of the things it has done include on/off-ramp services for digital wallets through partnerships with Coinme, Stellar, to cross-border settlement through Circle‘s USD Coin (USDC), and the new ability to buy and store crypto simply by using its app.

“Cryptocurrencies are additive to everything we’re doing at MoneyGram. From dollars to euros to yen and so on, MoneyGram enables instant access to over 120 currencies around the globe, and we see crypto and digital currencies as another input and output option,” said Alex Holmes, MoneyGram chairman and CEO.

“As a next step in the evolution of MoneyGram, we’re thrilled to provide our customers with access to a trusted and easy-to-use platform to securely buy, sell and hold select cryptocurrencies.”

Holmes added: “As consumer interest in digital currencies continues to accelerate, we are uniquely positioned to meet that demand and bridge the gap between blockchain and traditional financial services thanks to our global network, leading compliance solutions and strong culture of fintech innovation. We are excited for this next chapter in our journey.”

The ability to buy, sell and hold crypto using the MoneyGram app is made possible through the company’s existing partnership with Coinme, a licensed crypto exchange and API-driven crypto-as-a-service provider.

Together, since 2021, MoneyGram and Coinme have partnered to expand access to crypto by creating thousands of new locations in the US for consumers to buy and sell Bitcoin with cash.

MoneyGram is expected to expand its future selection of crypto coins as the company explores expansion to other markets in 2023, as global regulations allow.