WiPay Launches WiCoin Settlement Network on Hedera to Help Bank the Bankless in Africa and the Caribbean

Kingston, Jamaica - Today, WiPay, the Caribbean's leading payments company, announced the launch of the WiCoin Settlement Network, the Caribbean's first multi-territory settlement network, on the Hedera mainnet. This launch is a significant step towards achieving financial inclusion for the Caribbean and African countries, where traditional banking services are not accessible to many.

The WiCoin Settlement Network, developed by WiPay, connects islands directly through a single wallet with native currency management. The wallet facilitates the WiPay stablecoin, WiCoin, which is built on the Hedera Token Service (HTS) and interactive with the Hedera Smart Contract Service (HSCS). This reduces the time and cost associated with cross-border transactions by eliminating the need for intermediaries and correspondent banks.

With over 50,000 websites and point-of-sale terminals connected across the Caribbean, the WiCoin settlement network enables people and businesses to transfer and make payments securely and at a fraction of the current cost and time. The network overcomes the inefficiencies caused by each Caribbean country having its own currency by being a unified settlement network. As an HTS stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, cross-border transactions can maintain their expected value.

"WiCoin will reduce the resistance of doing business with Caribbean and African countries by resolving the main challenge of multicurrency correspondent banking," said Aldwyn Wayne, CEO of WiPay. "The Hedera network will revolutionize the settlement of payments within these territories."

The founders of the WiCoin Settlement Network chose the Hedera network for its ABFT security, low fee structure, and highly scalable nature, making it the solution of choice for settling payments across the Caribbean and African countries.

"Over the years, settlements between the Caribbean and Africa have been burdened with inefficiencies," said Pete Menash, Director of Payments at The HBAR Foundation. "Now, through the expertise of the WiPay team and the power of the Hedera network, we are actively resolving these issues. We greatly look forward to continuing our work with WiPay in these regions."

About The HBAR Foundation 

The HBAR Foundation supports the creation of Web3 communities built on the Hedera network, empowering and funding the builders developing these communities. The foundation's six funds - focused on the Crypto Economy, Metaverse, Sustainability, Fintech, Privacy, and Female Founders - each support communities within those areas, enabling applications to participate as part of a larger ecosystem.

About WiPay 

WiPay was created in 2017 as a solution to the persistent problem of digital payments and financial inclusion in the Caribbean. WiPay developed a uniquely inclusive platform that is secure, flexible, and simple to use, allowing anyone connected to the Internet to move money quickly, safely, and easily for the banked and unbanked. WiPay integrates with existing legacy systems to bring payments over the Internet to any industry, taking advantage of the latest developments in technology, making it safe and secure.

For additional information, please visit https://wipaycaribbean.com/ and https://hbarfoundation.org.

Contact: Aldwyn Wayne CEO, WiPay aldwyn@wipaycaribbean.com