BitPagos CEO and founder Sebastian Serrano recently announced a new feature for their bitcoin wallet, Ripio, at Techcrunch Disrupt New York 2016 . In the past, BitPagos has become known in the Bitcoin community by enabling merchants in inflation-riddled countries, such as Serrano’s birthplace of Argentina, to convert credit card payments into bitcoins.
They’ve often been referred to as the opposite of BitPay , which is a Bitcoin payment processor that allows merchants to convert bitcoin payments into local currency within one business day of the sale.
BitPagos’ latest project is an attempt to bring a new type of credit system to the unbanked in countries such as Argentina, where much of the population does not have the ability to shop online. During his presentation, Serrano noted that online commerce accounts for only 2.2 percent of all the shopping taking place in Latin America.
How Does Ripio Work?
Ripio Credit allows its users to pay any bitcoin-accepting merchant in installments denominated in their local currency. After downloading the app, users are put through an application process that involves handing over some identifying information such as a picture of their government-issued ID and a selfie. The information provided by the user is reviewed to determine the creditworthiness of the applicant.
During his presentation at TechCrunch Disrupt, Serrano stated, “This is a very difficult problem, but we have been working on these issues for several years ‒ long before BitPagos.”
Serrano noted that most of the BitPagos team comes from other payment companies in the region such as Mercado Libre . BitPagos is essentially creating a new reputation system to determine whether individuals who usually are not banked (or offered credit) can gain access to credit through their app.
Essentially, BitPagos is making bitcoin payments upfront for their users, while the users are responsible for paying […]
