{"id":129705,"date":"2025-05-21T13:15:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=129705"},"modified":"2025-05-21T13:15:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:15:41","slug":"guatemalas-largest-bank-integrates-blockchain-for-cross-border-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=129705","title":{"rendered":"Guatemala\u2019s largest bank integrates blockchain for cross-border payments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsGuatemala\u2019s largest bank, Banco Industrial, has integrated crypto infrastructure provider SukuPay into its mobile banking app, allowing locals to more easily receive remittances powered by blockchain technology.\u00a0<br \/>\nSukuPay\u2019s infrastructure has been fully embedded inside the Zigi payment app, allowing Guatemalans to receive funds from the United States instantly for a $0.99 flat fee, the company disclosed on May 21.\u00a0<br \/>\nUsers of the Zigi app do not need a crypto wallet or an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) to receive the funds, the company said.\u00a0<br \/>\nSukuPay CEO Yonathan Lapchik told Cointelegraph that the \u201ckey to mainstream adoption of blockchain technology is making it invisible to the end-user\u201d so that there are no technical barriers.\u00a0<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s the only way we\u2019ll scale blockchain to billions of people \u2014 by building the rails, not forcing people to learn how they work,\u201d said Lapchik.<br \/>\nEstablished in 1968, Banco Industrial has more than 1,600 service locations throughout Guatemala. As of 2023, it had over 150 million Guatemalan quetzals in assets, equivalent to roughly $20 million US. SukuPay said its integration with Zigi marks one of the first crypto-native protocols to be used inside a major Latin American retail bank.<br \/>\nBanco Industrial has a long-term issuer default rating of BB. Source: Fitch RatingsThe bank also has operations in Honduras, Panama and El Salvador and is a key player in local remittance markets.<br \/>\nRelated: Bitcoin treasury adoption grows in LATAM, mirroring US strategic BTC reserve plan<br \/>\nRemittances are lifelines for Latin America<br \/>\nRemittances, or money sent by migrants to their home countries, play a vital role in Guatemala and the broader region.\u00a0<br \/>\nThe Inter-American Development Bank projected that remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean would total approximately $161 billion in 2024. Monthly remittances typically range from $131 to $648, representing between 6% and 23% of the sender\u2019s average income.<br \/>\n\u201cRemittances are lifelines in this region, but they\u2019re broken,\u201d Lapchik told Cointelegraph.\u00a0<br \/>\n\u201cGuatemala alone sees $21 billion in remittances every year, and families are losing 6% to 10% of that to fees and delays. These are people sending $300, $400 a month, and they can\u2019t afford to wait days or pay that much just to get money home,\u201d he said, adding:<br \/>\n\u201cCrypto solves this when it\u2019s used the right way. It lets us move money instantly and at a fraction of the cost, integrated into the bank apps people already use.\u201d<br \/>\nLatin America is the second-fastest growing region in terms of crypto adoption, though Guatemala lags behind regional leaders Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, according to a 2024 Chainalysis study.<br \/>\nThe study cited stablecoins as a primary adoption driver in the region.\u00a0<br \/>\nCrypto adoption in Latin America by total value received. Source: ChainalysisLapchik said stablecoins facilitate cross-border transactions more easily, but that \u201cpeople don\u2019t wake up saying, I need a stablecoin.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<br \/>\n\u201cStablecoins are just the best way to make that happen,\u201d he said.<br \/>\nMagazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it\u2019s becoming them in stablecoin fight<a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/guatemala-largest-bank-integrates-blockchain-cross-border-payments?utm_source=rss_feed&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"feedzy-rss-link-icon\" rel=\"noopener\">Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsGuatemala\u2019s largest bank, Banco Industrial, has integrated crypto infrastructure provider SukuPay into its mobile banking app, allowing locals to more easily receive remittances powered by blockchain technology.\u00a0 SukuPay\u2019s&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129705"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=129705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=129705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=129705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=129705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}