Users of the ZEBEDEE platform in the U.S., United Kingdom, and the European Union can now instantly send money to the Philippines, Brazil, and three other territories thanks to its most recent partnerships.
In a press release, the Bitcoin gaming and payments company announced that it has entered into a partnership deal with both Pouch.ph and Bipa, which would allow it to introduce a new payment feature based on the open Lightning Network where app users can instantly send any amount of money for little to no cost.
With the new announcement, ZEBEDEE says its users can now send and receive funds from any Lightning wallet, or service. Users will also be able to connect directly to the two payment platforms (Pouch.ph and Bipa) and perform any task “similarly to open-banking standards where users can connect a bank account once and seamlessly move money to and from the account.”
Easier sending and receiving of Lightning payments
According to the press release, one of the key aspects of ZEBEDEE’s new feature is its ability to shield all users from the complexity of sending and receiving Lightning payments.
The solution shall require no prior knowledge of cryptocurrency or blockchain.
“For example, a user in Brazil can earn Bitcoin playing a game like Solitaire, then instantly transfer that money to Bipa and exchange it for Brazilian reais,” the press release stated, as it tried to showcase the effective interoperability that Bitcoin provides.
The new functionality, however, could add to the competition in the global market for remittances.
Earlier this year, digital payments firm Strike also launched a Lightning-based remittance service called Send Globally, which operates primarily in the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.
Making Bitcoin simple to use it becomes ‘just global money‘
André Neves, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of ZEBEDEE, described how this partnership is a necessary step for the growth of the company, as well as Bitcoin, saying, “In order for Bitcoin to take its place as the native money of the Internet, which really means the main form of money for the modern age, we have to make it so intuitive and simple to use for the average person that it ceases to be about Bitcoin — it’s just global money.”
“Our new feature provides a major step in that direction, as it gives our users the ability to select high-quality global providers with the push of a button and start sending instant transactions across the world in seconds,” he adds.
Ethan Rose, the CEO of Pouch.ph, for his part, said, “We are thrilled to be a launch partner of ZEBEDEE for this new feature for borderless transactions, as it aligns perfectly with our vision for financial inclusion of the Philippines. The Lightning Network is without a doubt the best tool for the job and, together with ZEBEDEE, we can continue pushing this technology forward to let our customers move funds between their bank accounts and any Lightning wallet in the world more seamlessly than ever.”
Luiz Parreira, CEO and Co-Founder of Bipa, reiterated these points, saying, “The remarkably simple new user experience created by ZEBEDEE is a powerful move towards broadening our reach to more users in Brazil.”
These new features bring ZEBEDEE beyond the realm of simply earning bitcoin and serve as a reminder of the incredible innovation still yet to come on top of Bitcoin.