Simplifying cross-border payments through crypto with Singapore’s Wind App
Across the globe, electronic payments are increasingly replacing cash as a preferred transaction method. In 2022, Africa’s domestic e-payments market had an expected annual growth rate of 20%, surpassing the global growth rate projection of 7%, and was predicted to reach US$40 billion by 2025. Especially given high mobile phone usage, solutions such as Egypt’s Etisalat Money and Vodafone Cash allow users to transfer money without a bank intermediary and even without bank accounts, vastly increasing access to financial technology.
Cross-border transactions, however, remain marked by the involvement of multiple intermediary institutions, high fees, and regulatory requirements that can make such operations costly and difficult. Blockchain technology utilizing cryptocurrency has emerged as an alternative to eliminate intermediaries in financial transactions, but it is technical and complex, requiring a strong understanding of how these new technologies work. In both cases, for entrepreneurs, businesses, and consumers looking to collaborate across borders, such transactions require resources and a level of financial literacy that can be difficult to attain.
To expand access to cross-border electronic transfers using blockchain technology, co-founders Hussain Elius and Simo Figuigui launched the web platform and mobile app Wind. Headquartered in Singapore, Wind seeks to simplify global, cross-border payments and expand access to facilitated financial transactions. The blockchain wallet allows users full control over their accounts, eliminating the interference of a third party, and guarantees safety by housing funds in a decentralized network that remains separate from Wind. In a crypto wallet, Wind streamlines the processes of dealing with cryptocurrencies; for example, while maintaining a crypto wallet normally requires private and public keys and mnemonics, Wind keeps keys in the backend and only asks users to log in with their email addresses.
Its low cost compared to other payment solutions is due in part to a fixed low-fee system, as well as zero-fee transfers between fiat and cryptocurrencies. Stability is ensured as the cryptocurrency of the platform, Stablecoins, is pegged to the US dollar on a 1:1 basis. Additional features offered by Wind include the possibility to earn yields and trade assets. Wind operates three platforms: Wind Business, a web-based self service business account, Wind Borderless, an iOS and Android App, and Wind Platform, designed for large businesses and major enterprises. Wind is currently established in geographies including Africa, South and Southeast Asia, South America, Europe, and North America, and is continuing to expand its reach. Solutions like Wind help bridge the literacy gap needed to access new financial technologies, decrease costs associated with cross-border collaboration and business, and encourage global ambition in entrepreneurship regardless of where it originates.
