Fireblocks, a platform to create innovative products on the blockchain and manage day-to-day crypto operations, announced the public launch of its Payments Engine, a new suite of tools that will “enable payment service providers (PSPs) with the ability to provide a blockchain agnostic, end-to-end solution for merchants, entrepreneurs and creators to accept, manage and settle digital asset payment transactions across any geography.”
Early pilot partner Checkout.com, who was instrumental in supporting the development of the Payments Engine, has “facilitated more than $1 billion in digital asset merchant settlements through their solution this year.”
Today, Fireblocks welcomes FIS, which claims to be “the largest merchant acquirer in the world, into its network of partners using the Payments Engine.”
FIS and its Worldpay solutions already “provide card-to-crypto processing services for 4 of the top 5 cryptocurrency exchanges and was the first global merchant acquirer to offer USDC settlements.” Together, the payment services providers “collectively serve over a million merchants around the world.”
Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks, stated:
“In the last several years, critical work has been done in the space to address pieces of the payments system. From stablecoin settlement to cross-border payments to payouts for creators, we believe that the payments system must be addressed holistically, especially as we see digital assets continue to proliferate into mainstream technologies and the global economy. We have seen a tremendous amount of momentum from some of the biggest names in categories such as creator economies, streaming applications, and ride-sharing apps, who are actively thinking about more efficient ways to remit payments to marketplace participants.”
Following the acquisition of First Digital, which brought specialized digital asset payments capabilities to the Fireblocks’ platform, the newly launched Payments Engine provides a turnkey solution “for businesses that want to integrate digital asset operations into existing or new products.”
Utilizing Fireblocks’ Payments Engine, PSPs will “have a secure platform to deploy new digital asset payment rails, expanding their capabilities to accept, collect, payout, process and settle transactions using digital assets.”
Fireblocks Vice President and Head of Payments, Ran Goldi remarked:
“The widespread use of stablecoins have made digital asset-based payments use cases very compelling for payments companies. Fireblocks’ new Payments Engine will allow PSPs to offer and interact with a new breed of payments technology. We have had the privilege of working alongside the largest PSPs in the world to develop innovative fit-to-purpose solutions to support the next generation of payments products and services. We’re excited to roll out our vision for the payments space with our partners and showcase the results of these collaborative efforts with our customers in the upcoming months.”
With reports anticipating that over 75% of retailers plan to adopt digital asset payment services within the next two years, early movers in the payments space like Checkout.com and FIS have already “begun taking advantage of Fireblocks’ Payments Engine to offer merchants the flexibility of 24/7 settlement, increasing cash flow, and reducing operational complexity.”
Nabil Manji, Head of Crypto & Web3 at FIS, commented:
“We’re enthusiastic about a wide-scale shift among enterprises and consumers towards digital payment systems. Together we will enable crypto-native and traditional businesses to accept, manage and settle digital assets so that they may choose their preferred currency for conducting business. This further builds on our relationship with Fireblocks, where we have already teamed to provide enterprise-grade digital asset investing and wallet technology to our capital market clients.”
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