One of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, is making waves in Latin America. On August 30, Binance unveiled its ambitious plan to bolster the crypto realm of the region by introducing a novel crypto-to-bank account payment mechanism.
Named “Send Cash,” this innovative offering is the result of Binance’s collaboration with licensed transfer processing providers. It facilitates direct crypto fund transfers to bank accounts, a feature now accessible to users from nine Latin American countries: Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Mexico.
More specifically, with Binance Pay, the exchange’s proprietary crypto payment platform, users across these nations can transmit funds to bank accounts located in Colombia and Argentina. The growth trajectory of Binance Pay has been impressive, as it gained significant traction across Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Min Lin, Binance’s Regional Vice President for Latin America, spoke of the company’s commitment to forging revolutionary crypto use cases that seamlessly integrate into daily routines. “The Latin American demographic is exceptionally receptive to groundbreaking solutions tailored to meet their unique challenges,” Lin stated.
These “unique challenges” are glaring. As Binance pointed out, a 2021 World Bank study revealed a staggering 42% of Latin American adults don’t possess a bank account. Furthermore, the surge in crypto adoption for remittance purposes is fueled by the rampant inflation plaguing numerous LATAM nations.
Taking a snapshot of the current economic landscape, Venezuela, which is conspicuously absent from Binance’s recent offering, grapples with the world’s most severe inflation rate of 398%. Argentina trails with a global fourth-place inflation rate of 113%. This inflationary trend isn’t isolated, with countries like Haiti, Cuba, and Colombia also grappling with double-digit inflation figures.
Yet, Binance’s journey in Latin America hasn’t been devoid of turbulence. Just a week prior, on August 24, the crypto giant announced the suspension of its crypto debit card services within the region.
In related developments, Circle, a prominent stablecoin issuer, declared a partnership on August 29 with Mercado Pago, Latin America’s fintech titan. This alliance aims to bring Circle’s USD Coin to the Chilean market through Mercado Pago’s platform, adding yet another chapter to LATAM’s evolving crypto story.
