Worldpay from FIS reduces barriers to entry into the crypto market with MoonPay partnership

Worldpay from FIS, which provides payment processing solutions to banks, businesses and merchants, is reducing the barriers to entry into the crypto market. The company is providing merchant acquiring services to crypto payments firm MoonPay, which will enable it to offer card-to-crypto functionality for merchants in over 160 countries and support 80 digital currencies.

MoonPay will use Worldpay’s platform to process credit and debit card purchases of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether, as well as NFTs. This could help facilitate the global expansion of the crypto industry by simplifying the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies and NFTs, particularly for those who are still unsure about taking the first leap into the crypto world.

FIS processes over $2 trillion in transactions annually across over 100 countries. The firm has announced a number of crypto-focused initiatives in the last few weeks, the most recent one being a collaboration with crypto exchange Okcoin to provide merchant acquiring and foreign exchange services.

As an early supporter of card-to-crypto services, Worldpay will use its experience and global reach to help MoonPay tap into a wider global audience, according to Jason Pavona, general manager for North America at FIS Merchant Solutions.

“As we continue to see rapid acceleration of digital adoption, consumers, merchants and governments are looking to digitize currency to provide a faster and safer way to transact,” said Pavona. “Digital currencies and NFTs at the heart revolve around the democratization of digital assets. Through this relationship, FIS and MoonPay will continue the drive to make these digital assets globally acceptable and accessible.”

MoonPay’s goal is to provide a simple, painless experience for consumers around the world who are looking to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and NFTs, according to founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright. “Worldpay provides us the global scale, footprint, expertise and acquiring services we need to meet our business goals, enhance our speed-to-market, and continue our expansion into new geographies with our advanced crypto infrastructure,” he said.

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Ankit Bhatia, co-founder and CEO of Ethereum-based social network Sapien, says the tie-up between FIS and MoonPay brings together the best of traditional and decentralized finance by carrying a legacy enterprise on to the next stage of fintech.

“FIS clearly sees long-term value in DeFi, and we’ll probably see more fintech giants open pathways for crypto to blend into global financial systems and practices,” said Bhatia. “What I’m expecting to happen over time is that large merchants or solutions providers will develop reserves of major coins like Ether and offer payments and refunds in the customer’s choice of fiat or crypto. You may even see an Amazon or Walmart wallet one day.”

Cryptocurrencies are still not as widely popular or available as they could be, but the entry of a major entity such as FIS could signify a big leap for the industry, according to Donna Tang, head of purpose and audience at personal finance website CreditDonkey. Tang says cryptocurrencies have a huge role to play in the future of finance, and that naturally includes the payments sector.

“The future of money is in payment apps and digital currencies, not credit or debit cards. Payment apps integrated with crypto options will unlock a whole new world of convenience,” said Tang. “The collaboration between these two industries could potentially open up a Pandora’s box full of multifunctionality and accessibility.”

Meanwhile, Chris Gure, financial consultant at investment firm Fortress Financial Partners, cautions against getting too optimistic too soon. He stresses that the continued adoption of cryptocurrencies by the legacy financial system is crucial if crypto enthusiasts want to see adoption scale rapidly.

“A popular notion right now seems to be that cryptocurrencies represent the future of payments. With inflation dominating the financial headlines and a promising alternative readily available, it is fun to root for the newcomer,” said Gure. “In reality, this will not happen overnight – it will take years and years for the true value of the network to be realized. Ultimately, partnering and working with the legacy financial systems is crucial.”