On Monday (September 7), FinTech startup Ziglu announced the launch of peer-to-peer (P2P) payments for all currencies supported by the Ziglu mobile app (which is available for both iOS and Android).
Ziglu’s founder and CEO is Mark Hipperson, who is the co-founder and former CTO of UK-based Starling Bank.
Ziglu was launched on June 15:
Back then, Hipperson told Coindesk:
“In 2020, we think the 25-45 [age] demographic will want easy, safe access to crypto. Only about 1% of people go to the large platforms to buy crypto and we think we can do better, and perhaps get them better prices as well.”
Ziglu is now able to offer P2P payments since recently it became authorized by the UK’s financial regulator—Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)—as an electronic money institution (EMI) in accordance with the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs).
However, it is important to note that “cryptoassets and cryptoasset services provided by Ziglu are not regulated by the FCA and do not have the same regulatory protections as e-money/payments services.”
Here are some of Ziglu’s key features:
- All your currencies (fiat and digital) in one place.
- An easy way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and Litecoin), with Ziglu charging a 1.25% commission on all trades.
- £50,000 insurance cover for each customer’s crypto holdings.
- The ability to send fiat (GBP) and crypto to friends and family who also use Ziglu, or to send fiat (GBP) to someone’s UK bank account via the Faster Payments system.
According to a press release shared with CryptoGlobe, P2P payments are “transactions that can be used for anything from splitting a dinner bill between friends to paying rent,” and now Ziglu customers can “instantly send or receive any currency from any contact within the Ziglu community.”
Ziglu Founder and CEO Mark Hipperson had this to say:
“Paying people should be instant, free and easy regardless of their location or the currency, whether that is splitting the cost of your AirBnB or sending a Bitcoin birthday present.”
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.