MoneyGram Makes Strategic Investment in Cryptocurrency Cash Exchange

Pre-digital P2P payments and remittance player MoneyGram made a strategic investment in cryptocurrency cash exchange company Coinme this week.

The amount of MoneyGram’s strategic investment in Coinme was undisclosed, but it gives the firm a 4% stake in the Seattle-based company. As a result, MoneyGram now holds direct ownership in Coinme.

“At MoneyGram, we continue to be bullish on the vast opportunities that exist in the ever-growing world of cryptocurrency and our ability to operate as a compliant bridge to connect digital assets to local fiat currency. Our investment in Coinme further strengthens our partnership and compliments our shared vision to expand access to digital assets and cryptocurrencies,” said MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes.

The two companies originally teamed up last year to offer a crypto-to-cash product that combined MoneyGram’s mobile payments platform and Coinme’s cryptocurrency exchange and custody technology. The new product allows customers to purchase bitcoin with cash and withdraw bitcoin holdings in cash at thousands of physical point-of-sale locations.

“Our unique cash-to-bitcoin offering with Coinme, announced in May of 2021, opened our business to an entirely new customer segment, and we couldn’t be more pleased with our progress. As we accelerate our innovation efforts, partnerships with startups like Coinme will further our position as the industry leader in the utilization of blockchain and similar technologies,” Holmes added.

And while last year’s partnership between the two was limited to U.S.-based point of sale locations, Coinme CEO Neil Bergquist unveiled plans for a global launch. “We see this as an incredible opportunity to continue our strong growth and build on our leading presence in the world of crypto,” said Bergquist. “With MoneyGram’s global network and infrastructure, both [MoneyGram’s] continued partnership and strategic investment will help us accelerate our growth and international expansion.”

Coinme offers two cash-to-crypto products that enable users to purchase cryptocurrencies using cash at MoneyGram and Coinstar locations in 48 U.S. states. Since the company was founded in 2014, it has raised $19 million.

Last October, MoneyGram partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation and Circle to enable consumers using Circle’s USDC stablecoin to receive cash funding and payout in local currency. MoneyGram was founded in 1940 and is currently listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker MGI with a market capitalization of $692 million.

Photo by Caleb Oquendo from Pexels

Source: https://finovate.com/moneygram-makes-strategic-investment-in-cryptocurrency-cash-exchange/