Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange, has partnered with BCB Group, the European crypto-focused payment processor, in the United Kingdom.
It has been reported that the partnership already works with major platforms such as Coinbase, Bitstamp and Galaxy Digital.
However, BCB Group is focused on institutional payments services and offers business accounts and crypto market liquidity for “crypto-engaged” financial institutions. The Group’s core subsidiary was officially approved by the Financial Conduct Authority as an authorized payment institution (API) earlier this year.
Gemini's U.K. users will have faster and smoother pound wire transfers thanks to a partnership with payments processor BCB Group https://t.co/D961YpebAn — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) October 12, 2020
The report said that collaborating with BCB is intended to provide Gemini’s clients in the UK with faster options for sending and receiving British pounds.
The exchange will be connected to BCB’s API by simplifying Gemini’s interactions with various banks and fiat currencies and reducing the need for manual intervention in transaction processing.
Blair Halliday, the Chief Compliance Officer for Europe at Gemini, said that the development will help Gemini “secure access to real-time settlement infrastructure, enabling us to integrate with our banking partners.”
Likewise, a spokesperson for the exchange said that Gemini’s UK customers can make pound deposits and withdrawals through the Faster Payments scheme, CHAPS, and SWIFT transfers, as well as linking their debit cards to Gemini accounts.
The spokesperson added:
“Our integration with BCB Group’s API specifically enables us to streamline the steps involved in processing these wire transfers into and out of customer accounts.”
This year, Gemini has expanded to the UK, where it has been approved as a registered crypto-asset firm by the FCA, in compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing obligations.
Thus, it has also been granted an Electronic Money Institution license in the country.
Source: Cointelegraph