Xapo Bank, one of the most trusted custodians in the cryptocurrency industry, has announced a partnership with Lightspark and the integration of the Lightning Network to enable near-instant Bitcoin payments for its members.
Xapo Bank members can now pay for small purchases of up to $100 USD at any merchant that accepts Lightning payments, without high transaction fees and long blockchain confirmation waiting times. The Lightning Network allows scalable payments at millions of transactions per second across the network, reducing the time-consuming and costly experiences that often plague users who pay for small transactions in Bitcoin.
According to Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, the Bitcoin network’s average transaction confirmation time of one hour combined with potentially large fees during periods of high usage make it unsuitable for small daily payments such as groceries. By integrating with the hyper-efficient Lightning Network, Xapo Bank is the first bank in the world to streamline this process and allow its members to pay for small purchases with Bitcoin without having to convert to USD first.
Founded in 2013, Xapo was the first institutional holder of Bitcoin and is one of the most trusted custodians in the industry. It was the first crypto company in the world to obtain a banking licence, evolving into Xapo Bank, and has since expanded its offerings to include interest-bearing accounts for both USD and BTC and continues to develop its Wealth Management offering alongside other traditional banking services.
To pay via the Lightning Network, Xapo Bank members will need to hold Bitcoin in the Xapo Bank App. After that, they can simply scan and pay an invoice at any merchant accepting Lightning Network payments. The network charges a small fee for each transaction, usually a few Satoshis. Xapo Bank has set a fixed payment fee for SAT 15 (less than $0.01 USD as of Feb 24th) to protect members from executing transactions with high fees.
The announcement comes at a time when the use of digital money is becoming more ubiquitous, and integrations like this are crucial in opening up access to Bitcoin payments. Xapo Bank aims to be the largest Lightning node, expanding the network’s use across a host of new users.
Xapo Bank’s distributed workforce across 42 countries brings unrivalled diversity of problem-solving talent to the world of private and decentralised banking. A tech company first and foremost, 65% of the bank’s staff are world-class engineers who are developing its innovative technology platform.
Xapo Bank’s partnership with Lightspark and the integration of the Lightning Network is a significant step towards faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions, particularly for small daily payments. The company is committed to helping its members navigate the new financial landscape and ultimately grow the cryptocurrency that many of its members rely on.
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