Flexa is finally launched outside of the US for the first time ever, which made instant, in-store cryptocurrency payments available to residents of the Great White North, from Yukon to Nova Scotia and from Vancouver to St. John’s.
New York-based blockchain payment startup Flexa announced that they have been finally launched outside the U.S. for the first time ever. From today, instant in-store crypto payments have been made possible for Canadian residents as well – from Yukon to Nova Scotia and from Vancouver to St. John’s.
But let’s start from the beginning. In April this year, this startup raised $14.1 million from big investors including Pantera Capital, 1kx, Access Ventures, etc. Their token, dubbed Flexacoin, is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that is created for usage by developers and companies to stake value on Flexa’s network for merchant payment processing.
In May, they introduced an application which enabled consumers to spend their cryptos at major American retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, GameStop, Nordstrom, Office Depot and Whole Foods Market.
Transactions could be made in three easy steps: adding crypto to the SPEDN wallet, choosing a necessary brand and scanning a code. To pay for purchases customers can use can Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH) and the stablecoin issued by Gemini, the Gemini dollar (GUSD).
From then, their network of stores widened and some partnerships deepened. In cooperation with Gemini, they introduced support for Litecoin (with the Litecoin Foundation) and Zcash (with Electric Coin Company). They have also joined the Messari registry, and released the beta app for Android on the Play Store, because previously app was available only for iOs.
From the company, they said that their entrance to Canada was thought thoroughly and it will be done in two phases.
The first phase covers an opening of the existing Flexa network to Canadian residents, who already can try by downloading the SPEDN app from the App Store or Google Play and visiting SPEDN Shop pop-up at Toronto’s Blockchain Futurist conference, through August 14.
The second phase includes bringing instant crypto payments online in more than 7,500 stores across Canada (including some of the nation’s largest retail, entertainment, and fuel brands) by the beginning of September.
Of course, Canadian Flexa users will be able to spend on the network when in the USA as well and vice versa without any necessity to worry about exchange rates or conversion fees.
Per the announcement, Flexa wallet deposits will be protected securely also insured through their, already mentioned, partnership with Gemini.
They said:
“We think that seamless, fee-free, cross-border commerce is one of the most impactful use cases that cryptocurrency can provide. And because Flexa doesn’t require the use of credit cards, debit cards, or bank accounts, we’re not tethered to the traditional financial system or its inherent fiat inflexibility.”
In order to bring Flexa to Canada, the company has partnered with Coinsquare, Canada’s biggest and safest cryptocurrency exchange. Toronto based, last few years Coinsquare spent in creating one of the most cooperative and original exchange businesses in this sector. From Flexa, they said they keep trying to widen their relationship as getting closer to releasing Flexacoin collateralization and the Flexa Wallet SDK for iOS and Android.
As per the announcement, it doesn’t seem Flexa will stop in America and Canada only. Their intents include satisfying their own ambition of “making cryptocurrency spendable everywhere, and rebuilding payment acceptance for the modern era”.
They are, however, aware that they are on the very first beginning but they are hoping to have a possibility to share more information on Flexacoin collateralization and the availability of the Flexa Wallet SDK in the nearest future.
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