Bitso, a Latin American exchange, has launched a cryptocurrency remittance service in Colombia

Bitso, a Latin American bitcoin exchange, announced the debut of a cryptocurrency remittance service in Colombia on Thursday.

According to Bitso, the service, which will allow individuals and businesses to send and receive digital currencies, is Colombia’s first crypto remittance offering. For the time being, the service will only be available through the company’s website, with a mobile app shortly to follow.

“Volatility has no effect on these transactions,” said Emilio Pardo, Bitso’s Colombia national manager. “The price of the stablecoins that we use is determined by the international currency market, with parity with the dollar, which is a significant benefit in terms of beating inflation.”

Bitso hopes to replicate the crypto remittance service it launched in Mexico in 2021, which processed $1 billion in the first half of 2022. The company intends to more than quadruple its volume of foreign transfers by the end of the year, and to process $4 billion by 2023.

In 2021, remittances of $8.56 billion were transferred to Colombia from overseas, setting a new high.

In the opposite direction, Colombians contributed $380 million in remittances overseas last year, a 52.4 percent increase over the 2020 amount. Money sent to the United States totaled $103 million, a 102 percent increase year on year.