Relai, the Swiss bitcoin app, announces its partnership with Checkout.com, the global payments provider.
The move reportedly makes Relai the “first and only” bitcoin company “to offer instant transactions through a wallet that’s entirely owned by the customer.”
The partnership “means that Relai users will be now able to buy bitcoin via VISA, Mastercard, Apple Pay in real time.” This also “means that all payments to and from Relai will take seconds rather than the one-to-four days working days of traditional bank transfers.” Moreover, the service will be “available 24/7, all year round.”
As covered, Checkout.com is a global payments provider and already “powers much of the crypto industry including 12 of the top 15 crypto exchanges.” Their service is “driven by their cloud-based payment platform offering and modular product suite, which are built on the latest tech and dedicated teams of payments and crypto experts.”
The move ties in “with one of Relai’s guiding ambitions – to give investors as much control over their money as possible.” As a matter of principle, the app “provides exclusively non-custodial wallets, which means users have full say over what happens to their assets.”
The partnership with Checkout.com will “further extend this control, allowing them to respond quickly to changes in the market – and crucially, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite and purse strings tighten – users will be able to top up their fiat wallet instantly, access cash when they need it, from wherever they are in the world.”
Julian Liniger, CEO and co-founder at Relai, commented:
“At a time when it’s increasingly important for people to have control over their money, we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Checkout.com. It’s an exciting moment for the whole Relai team and means we finally have achieved our ambition to build the world’s easiest bitcoin app. People can now buy bitcoin instantly and 24/7 with direct delivery in their self-controlled wallet – that’s a world’s first.“
Esteban Sadurni, Director, Crypto & Digital Assets Checkout.com, added:
“We are technologists at heart and have been supporting the crypto industry for several years. That’s why we’re excited to partner with Relai supporting their mission to make bitcoin easier, simpler, safer, and more accessible for everyone using our payments technology.”
As noted in the update, Relai is an app “on a mission to become Europe’s easiest and quickest way of buying and saving bitcoin.” Founded in Switzerland by Julian Liniger and Adem Bilican after they “struggled to find a safe, hassle-free space for buying bitcoin, Relai is making bitcoin saving and investment accessible for everyone.”
The bitcoin-only app is “designed to be simple and intuitive, enabling anyone in Europe to buy and sell bitcoin within minutes, with no need for registration, verification or deposits.”
Independently audited and with over 70 million CHF of bitcoin invested through its platform, Relai is “giving consumers the chance to unlock new means of saving and investing.”