UK's investment bank Barclays is entering into a partnership with a bitcoin financial services startup Circle Internet Financial. The alliance signifies the growing adoption of digital currencies in mainstream financial system.
The news follows the recent announcement of Circle’s UK launch, which will allow UK citizens to experience social payments over the open Internet in their native currency, pound sterling (GBP), using Circle’s updated apps for Android, iOS, and the Web.
Financial Times reported that from Wednesday, the payment app will be able to transmit sterling between app users by linking to their debit cards.
Under the partnership, Barclays Corporate Banking will be providing the account that Circle needs for storing sterling for consumers, as well as the infrastructure for processing of transfers from any UK bank account in and out of Circle, Finextra reported.
The UK Treasury welcomed the news, with economic secretary Harriet Baldwin saying:
“Circle’s decision to launch in the UK and the firm’s new partnership with Barclays are major milestones. Together they prove our decision to introduce the most progressive, forward-looking regulatory regime is paying off and cements our status as the world’s fintech capital.”
Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, Circle Co-Founders, said in a blog post that Circle is the first digital currency company in the world to be granted an E-Money license, adding that they will be offering the benefits of digital money to over 500 million European consumers, and ultimately enable anyone with sterling or euros to send and receive value for free, with an experience familiar to anyone who uses messaging or social media.
In addition, they also announced that they are eliminating transaction and withdrawal limits for customers in all of the 150+ countries where Circle is available.
Circle, valued at $250 million, uses bitcoin blockchain to transfer central bank currencies. It already has the backing of Goldman Sachs, as the startup raised $50 million in a funding round that drew support from the latter, in April.
