Barclays has announced a PoC agreement with bitcoin exchange Safello to start development of the new bitcoin payment platform.
UK-based bank Barclays has signed a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) agreement with Swedish bitcoin exchange Safello to develop a new bitcoin payment system. The company has made an announcement at the Barclays Accelerator demo event on Monday.
“Safello and Barclays will be working together on creating a new payment platform that will support bitcoins. The collaboration begins with a PoC trial to allow for donations to be sent to charities using Bitcoins,” said Safello co-founder and chief exective officer Frank Schuil.
Under the project, together with Safello, Barclays will investigate how the digital currency technology can change the sector of financial services. They are going to start a PoC trial for sending donations with the use of bitcoin. Currently, the platform is in the early design stages.
Safello joined Barclays’ 13-week financial technology accelerator program this March. Started last year, the program appeared to be very successful. Of all the 10 companies participating in the program, 7 extended their partnership with the bank.
At the event, the startups unveiled what they achieved during the program and described the progress they made. During three months, ome firms even managed to create their technologies from an idea to product development.
Finextra notes that Post Quantum signed a deal to implement its cyber security technology at Barclays. Stock trading game platform Stockfuse is going to become a part of the bank’s graduate recruitment campaign by launching a Global Market Insight Game this year.
Barclays Accelerator is a program of networking, mentoring and development that was designed to help fintech startups improve their businesses and support innovations in the sector. The program shows that Barclays actively supports the developing world fintech segment.
Barclays Chief Design Officer Derek White said: “At Barclays, we’re embracing the digital revolution, exploring innovations early on so that we can help to shape their development and co-create the future of financial services with these startups.”
Launched in 2013, Safello has processed more than $6 million in bitcoin transactions and now includes over 20,000 customers globally. The company is targeted at increasing the use of virtual currency and making it easier for customers to acquire it. Over the last year, Safello has significantly expanded by raising about €629,000 through its crowdfunding campaign in March.
Following a successful completion of the program, Barclays together with its partner Techstars is planning to launch another Accelerator in New York this July.
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