Bitwage Expands to India Enabling BTC Wages for Workers

Bitwage is now operating in India offering to improve international wage distribution with cryptocurrency. Now millions of workers from India will be able to get their wages paid in bitcoin and INR.

Bitwage Now Available for Indian Workers

On December 21 Bitwage announced a strategic partnership with the Indian bitcoin-based firm Unocoin. By utilizing Unocoin’s recently released API, the Bitwage platform is now accessible to web, iOS, and Android users within India. The collaboration hopes to empower millions of local workers during the country’s recent cash crisis. The world’s second most populous nation has been gravitating towards cryptocurrency solutions as authorities have been pressing for a cashless society.

Also read: Coinsecure’s Benson Samuel: ‘India’s Bitcoin Interest Spiking’

Employees, contractors, and local businesses in India can sign up for Bitwage services selecting INR as their choice currency. When doing so, a tethered Unocoin account is created to the Bitwage platform. Moreover, Indian employees will also be able to receive their wages in INR from companies from the UK, Europe, and the U.S. as well. Firms already using the Bitwage platform include Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, and Google.

“I grew up in Canada watching my father send money to our family in India,” explains Sunny Ray, Co-Founder and President of Unocoin. “Now along with my co-founders, we created Unocoin to solve the problem of expensive fees and drawn out transaction times; this is just one way that digital currency can dramatically help humanity. Our partnership with Bitwage could not have come at a better time for the people of India. We are excited to work hand in hand with a Bitwage, a company equally as committed to transforming and improving the lives of workers in India. The demand for Bitcoin in India is tremendous.”

Cheaper Than Traditional Indian Payment Processors

Bitwage utilizes bitcoin as its transfer mechanism. This method allows the firm to cut transmission costs drastically. For example, an Indian worker receiving $1,000 USD sent to India could receive 70250.00 INR with Bitwage. This is a stark contrast to an estimated 64481.60 INR through Paypal or approximately 65660.00 INR via Citibank India.

Also read: Interview: Impact of Demonetization on Ordinary Indians

Sunny Ray details that with the economic crisis in India his company is seeing more people flocking to bitcoin solutions. He believes the partnership with Bitwage will bring the benefits of bitcoin to the masses by connecting a bridge to the Indian community. Jonathan Chester, Co-Founder and President of Bitwage agrees the expansion into India is a great opportunity.   

“The partnership with Unocoin was an undeniable opportunity because of the profound impact it will have on the Indian community,” the Bitwage Co-Founder details. “The value of the Unocoin and Bitwage partnership goes beyond providing a faster, cheaper, and more reliable solution for international wage processing needs— It is helping revive the Indian economy.”

 Bitcoin Demand in India Continues to Grow

Many believe bitcoin can be a great safe haven investment and remittance application for countries like India. Demand in the region has grown significantly with other Indian companies like Coinsecure reporting vast volume increases and Localbitcoins volumes have doubled.

Current Localbitcoins prices as of press time are $50-100 higher than average global exchange rates. It’s safe to say India’s interest in bitcoin is exploding and Bitwage hopes it can expand on this popularity with its cryptocurrency wage platform. What do you think about Bitwage’s Indian expansion? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitwage, and Unocoin websites.

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