MoneyGram is partnering with Coinme to enable the cash funding and payout of digital currency purchases and sales. 

The partnership will pair MoneyGram’s mobile, API-driven payments platform with Coinme’s proprietary cryptocurrency exchange and custody technology. It will enable thousands of new point-of-sale locations throughout the United States. If successful, the partnership will expand to international markets by the second half of 2021.

“This innovative partnership opens our business to an entirely new customer segment as we are the first to pioneer a crypto-to-cash model by building a bridge with Coinme to connect bitcoin to local fiat currency,” remarked MoneyGram Chairman and CEO Alex Holmes. 

Specially designed for newcomers to cryptocurrencies, the integration is set to provide a convenient way for customers to purchase bitcoin (BTC) with cash and withdraw bitcoin holdings in cash. This could dramatically expand access to bitcoin, as there are currently fewer than 20,000 cryptocurrency kiosks in the world.

“MoneyGram has spent more than 80 years building one of the world’s largest P2P payment networks,” said Neil Bergquist, Coinme CEO. “By integrating its global infrastructure with our licensed crypto exchange technology, we can enable the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies across its system using cash”.