To facilitate international payments, Bitso — a leading financial services company powered by crypto in Latin America with 7 million users — announced its integration with the Stellar network, adding new corridors between Latin America and Europe to Stellar’s growing Anchor Network. The solution, developed in partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation, allows companies from all over the world to carry out fast, affordable and secure transactions to Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.
 
The integration adds to the services that Bitso offers to companies and institutions — where it currently serves more than 1,500 clients. Thanks to this integration with the Stellar network, global companies will be able to carry out transactions in dollars, using USDC (the fully-reserved digital dollar issued by Circle) in countries where Bitso has a direct connection to the local bank system. This will open new possibilities for trade, financial inclusion and equitable access to the markets of Latin America and the world.
 
One of the most successful use cases of crypto technology is cross-border payments between countries, such as remittances or international transfers. Just last year, Bitso processed 3.3 billion dollars only in the Mexico - United States corridor and saw a 32% increase in total international transfers between July and December of the same year. According to Juniper Research, digital cross-border remittances are projected to grow to $428 billion by 2025.

“In recent years, we have seen an increase in cross-border payments globally for both international commerce and remittances. By leveraging blockchain technology and crypto assets, we can significantly improve settlement times and overall costs. This partnership between Stellar and Bitso is well aligned with our mission to make crypto useful by enabling businesses to perform seamless transfers of value across countries. Together, we aim to revolutionize global finance, fostering inclusivity and financial empowerment worldwide”, Santiago Alvarado, SVP of Institutional Product at Bitso, stated.

Although this is a new product offering, there are organizations that are already benefiting from this project, such as MYKOBO, a European-based company that is a pioneer in connecting the European financial infrastructure with blockchain technology and that has contributed to the success of this launch with the opening of a corridor for transactions between Europe and Mexico. 
 
Another example is PMI-Americas, a leading global payment services company, which is opening two important corridors, one between Chile and Colombia and the other between Chile and Mexico, using the services of this alliance as part of its objectives to create strategies and customized solutions that meet the needs of its clients in Latin America.

“We believe that the addition of Bitso into the Stellar Anchor network helps further the mission of the Stellar Development Foundation to promote financial inclusion around the world. The possibility of carrying out increasingly seamless transactions between countries, promoting cooperation, economic development and the opening of new commercial corridors, shows the potential of the Stellar network to make a real-world impact”, Mark Heynen, VP, Partnerships at the Stellar Development Foundation, said.

Through this integration, companies will be able to carry out transactions without the need for specialized knowledge of crypto and will gain the ability to conduct international operations without the need for any other intermediaries or banks.