Wirex's W-Pay Disrupting Payments Industry
Wirex announced at Japan’s biggest Fintech summit that it has significantly disrupted the global payments industry by successfully integrating a multi-asset off-chain liquidity network powered by smart contract technology, enabling ultra-low cost instant payments on a global scale.
This means instant global multi-currency payment solutions, a fully-automated trustless blockchain environment for M2M payments with zero blockchain fees, gateway fees, or customer chargebacks.
W-Pay technology continues to evolve, making it possible to use over 50 cryptocurrencies together with Fiat money in a fully-automated and trustless environment, without the need to wait for blockchain confirmations.
The service was founded in 2013 as the first mass consumer service in the world to successfully combine cryptocurrency networks with traditional banking services and the VISA card scheme.
W-Pay brings several key features:
Multi-blockchain/multi-asset: Support for numerous cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether, Ripple, Dash, NEM etc.) as well as Fiat money (US Dollars, GBP, Euros, Japanese Yen, etc.) The network supports most digital assets and is seamlessly integrated with the VISA network.
Security: Built on a state-of-the-art platform specifically designed to deliver fast and secure payment solutions. Connected to multiple blockchains as well as traditional payment schemes. Designed in accordance with ISO 20022 and PCI/DSS standards.
Integration options: Multiple options for deep integration depending on the type of network participant (Liquidity Provider, Merchant or End User); from cross blockchain integration to simple REST API.
VISA Network: Deep integration with the VISA card network brings digital assets to traditional payment infrastructure. It’s now possible to use digital assets in more than 40M merchants in 210+ countries. As of the mid-2017, Wirex has issued over 700K cards for customers in 130+ countries.
Instant payments: Capacity to process millions of payments without a need for custodians. Bidirectional payment channels allow network participants to pay each other off-chain and only broadcast net positions to the network based on their business rules. This model allows instant and cheap payments in a trustless environment.
Payment Service Directive (PSD2): PSD2 is a game changer in European retail banking. Under PSD2 (starting January 2018), new rules will enable third parties to access payment account information and initiate payments on behalf of the user via PISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider). Wirex is working hard to obtain its PISP license as soon as it becomes available to allow us to bring banking deposits into the W-Pay network.
Pavel Matveev, CEO, Wirex, said: “Unlike off-the-shelf technologies, Wirex has built 100 percent of the platform in-house. Wirex has full ownership and control of the technology stack, giving it flexibility to react to changes in customer behaviour and demands. This unique approach enables Wirex to build systems free from legacy constraints by using blockchain technology that is revolutionising the payment industry.”
