Crypto friendly Xapo Bank integrates with single euro payments area network
Gibraltar-based Xapo Bank has integrated with the single euro payments area (SEPA) network, allowing movement of funds in Euros (EUR).
First introduced in 2008 and comprising 36 countries, SEPA allows for cashless EUR payments to anywhere in the European Union (EU), as well as a number of non-EU members.
The SEPA feature within Xapo Bank’s mobile application enables members to send funds to or settle invoices with individuals and businesses holding accounts in any of the countries within the SEPA network. These include all European Union nations, the three European Economic Area (EEA) countries of Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland, as well as Switzerland, Monaco, and the United Kingdom.
As a result of the SEPA integration, members can now receive funds in their account in EUR from financial institutions from all the SEPA participant countries which will be automatically converted to USD in order to be credited.
“With traditional payment rails, it can take people outside of the EU hours to move EUR in and out of their accounts, often requiring them to switch between banks and at a much higher cost too,” said Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank.
“This is an issue for people across emerging markets, digital nomads, and any person who is working internationally or moving money across multiple borders. The SEPA integration addresses this by allowing for instant transactions at competitive rates.
“In addition to the launch of the USDC payment rails earlier this year, the inclusion of the SEPA feature marks Xapo Bank’s commitment to offer our members additional currency rail choices across fiat and crypto, managed with the security of a fully-regulated bank. In line with our mission to help protect and grow our members’ wealth, we continue to find ways to make it simpler and more flexible for them to transact transparently and securely.”
The launch of the SEPA payment feature comes off the back of Xapo’s recent integration in March with the Faster Payments System to offer members round-the-clock fund settlement in Great British Pounds (GBP) in the United Kingdom and overseas territories. The same month, Xapo also announced an integration with Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, in collaboration with Lightspark, to enable super fast Bitcoin payments on small transactions.