New crypto payments platform coming to Australia

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Cryptocurrencies continue to grow as an alternative around the world and nowhere is this as evident as it is in Australia. The country is adopting crypto at a rate faster than most countries and residents have several options available to them to pay for virtually anything using digital currency. There is soon to be a new option added to the mix, thanks to a partnership between blockchain-based tech company Ivy and HiveEx.com, a crypto brokerage.

The two companies have teamed up to offer IvyPay, which will allow crypto owners to use their holdings to pay bills or to transfer funds directly to their bank accounts. The platform is designed to give crypto a huge boost as an alternative to fiat and fill a void that the companies feel has been keeping mainstream adoption from expanding more rapidly.

HiveEx co-founder Fred Schebesta explains, “Despite cryptocurrency being around for the past decade, it still has quite a while to go before it’s as widely used as fiat currencies, like the Australian dollar. We wanted to help build a platform to bridge the gap between fiat and crypto.”

A survey conducted by HiveEx showed that around 10% of Australians feel that the inability to transfer their assets to their bank accounts was a huge obstacle for adoption. Given that there are an estimated 2.58 million Australians with crypto holdings, there is a large market for a platform that can bridge that gap. Adds Schebesta, “We think that this will inevitably increase as there are more options to use it. We’ve seen the power of this technology and how it can become a better banking system, but without mass integration and acceptance by traditional financial institutions there are limited ways of using it.”

IvyPay will manage all transactions using the company’s own IvyKoin cryptocurrency. Each token will be embedded with the necessary personal data in order to comply with Know-Your-Customer regulations around the globe.

HiveEx was founded by some of the same individuals that founded finder.com.au. According to a company statement, it has traded more than $15 million in the past three months and “operates everything from large OTC trading to bill payments.” Ivy builds blockchain-based technology for business transactions of both fiat and crypto.

The platform isn’t live yet, but is expected to be launched before the end of the year. If everything goes well, the platform will then be rolled out to other regions, including the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia.