Bitcoin payments company Strike has expanded its cross-border payments service to Mexico, as the company aims to tap into the country’s huge remittance market.
As of June 14, 2023, the company has provided Send Globally to the third largest country in Latin America. The service allows users to send money internationally, providing a convenient solution for cross-border transactions.
In 2021, 94.9% of remittance payments flowing into Mexico originated in the United States, based on data from BBVA Research.
According to the digital payments company, about 95% of all transfers processed by Strike from senders abroad are transferred to accounts of citizens of the country.
With this step, US Dollars (USD) sent to Mexico via Send Globally will be received in the recipient’s bank account in Mexican pesos. – Help strengthen Strike’s presence in Latin America.
The announcement follows a recent disclosure by Jack Malers, CEO and co-founder of Strike, that the company has decided to complete an in-house trusteeship.
This strategic move eliminates dependence on middlemen as service providers.
Notably, the company established a headquarters in El Salvador for its global subsidiary on May 24 as part of an effort to expand its app to more than 65 countries. However, the headquarters are still in Chicago.
Quoting Manuela Rios, Strike’s vice president of products at the time:
Our end goal is to address the 7 to 8 billion people in every single country.
As a sign of this commitment, the company said, “Strike’s expansion into Mexico brings a better option to 12 million Mexican Americans.”
The development will address the plight of the growing number of Mexican immigrants in the United States, who are bearing the brunt of “high fees, slow settlement, and a lack of innovation in existing cross-border payment services.”
Strike’s Send Globally runs on the Lightning Network
Send Globally runs on the Lightning Network, a Layer 2 payment protocol built on top of Bitcoin.
The Lightning Network enables cheap and fast transactions, making it an attractive solution for the remittance industry.
The service comes at a time when network congestion is a major concern, as we saw recently when the Binance exchange complained about a Bitcoin (BTC) network backlog.
Notably, Argentina, another Latin American country, recently launched an online course to educate the public about the Lightning Network.
This serves as evidence of the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies, as countries and companies actively develop the infrastructure needed to foster innovation.