Xapo Bank, a leading Bitcoin custodian and licensed private bank, has partnered with Lightspark and integrated with the Lightning Network to enable lightning-fast Bitcoin payments for its customers. Xapo Bank members can now instantly pay for small purchases of up to $100 USD at any vendor which accepts Lightning payments without suffering high transaction fees and long blockchain confirmation waiting times. As advocates for the most trusted cryptocurrency in the world, Xapo Bank also offers an annual interest rate of 4.1% on US dollars and will soon be offering up to 1% on Bitcoin, divided over the year and paid out daily. 

The Lightning Network enables scalable payments at millions of transactions per second across the network. This integration will reduce the time-consuming and costly experiences that often plague users who pay for small transactions in Bitcoin. Xapo Bank will be the first fully licensed private bank to offer near-instant Bitcoin payments and its goal is to be the largest Lightning node, expanding the network’s use across a host of new users.

Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, said: “The average transaction confirmation time of one hour combined with potentially large fees during periods of high usage make the Bitcoin network unsuitable for small daily payments such as groceries. By integrating with the hyper-efficient Lightning Network, we are the first bank in the world to streamline this process and allow our members to pay for small purchases with Bitcoin without having to convert to USD first. Against a backdrop of hyperinflation, economic uncertainty and political turmoil, we are entering a world where digital money is ubiquitous, and we need integrations like this that open up access to Bitcoin payments. We are bringing together the benefits of fast, cost-efficient, and global Bitcoin payments with the security, privacy, and flexibility unmatched in the traditional banking industry.”

Founded in 2013, Xapo was the first institutional holder of Bitcoin, and is one of the most trusted custodians in the industry, providing users with a secure platform to store and transact with their Bitcoin. It was the first crypto company in the world to obtain a banking licence, evolving into Xapo Bank, and has since expanded its offerings to include interest-bearing accounts for both USD and BTC, and continues to develop its Wealth Management offering, alongside other traditional banking services. Unlike other financial services businesses, at Xapo Bank, members own and control their Bitcoin fully, meaning they can receive, hold and send Bitcoin directly.

David Marcus, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightspark, said: “We’re thrilled to enable the first bank on the Lightning Network to offer instant, cheap Bitcoin payments to its customers. Xapo has been one of our early closed beta partners, and we’re delighted they chose Lightspark’s enterprise-grade solution to reliably send and receive payments on the Lightning Network without all the complexity and operational overhead that typically comes with running a node on it. We look forward to talking more about our solution in the months to come.”

To pay via the Lightning Network, Xapo Bank members will need to hold Bitcoin in the Xapo Bank App. After that, they can simply scan and pay an invoice at any merchant that accepts Lightning Network payments. The network charges a very small fee for each transaction, usually a few Satoshis. Xapo Bank has set a fixed payment fee for SAT 15 (less than $0.01 USD as of Feb 24th) in order to protect members from executing transactions with high fees.

Wences Casares, Chairman at Xapo Bank, said: "We believe that Bitcoin is the future of money, and we are committed to helping our members navigate this new financial landscape. By expanding our services to include instant Bitcoin transfers, we can offer our members better usability and ultimately grow the cryptocurrency that many of our members rely on."