Transak enables wire transfers for crypto purchases in the US

Web3 payments infrastructure provider Transak has enabled wire transfers for crypto investors in the United States. With this, the firm became the first fiat-to-crypto on-ramp to offer wire transfers.

Per a July 6 announcement, the new feature is available for a minimum transfer amount of $2,000, with the maximum limit set at $25,000 per transaction. Transak wrote in the announcement:

This move aims to make large transactions simpler and more cost-effective for users, aligning with Transak’s goal of broadening its payment options.

An already successful addition

The US launch comes after the firm witnessed a surge in demand for the payment method in markets like the United Kingdom.

Transak’s bank transfer volume reportedly surged four times following the introduction of wire transfers in the region compared to other methods like cards and Apple Pay.

Further, wire transfers are also cheaper compared to other alternatives like credit cards, incurring a fee of 1%. There are also additional restrictions like transaction limits with these payment methods.

Other benefits that come with wire transfers are the added security of the multi-step process of adding beneficiaries, sending funds, and approving transactions. Per Transak, this approach adds a “layer of verification,”  and also “reduces the risk of fraud.”

The firm now expects to mimic the success of the UK in the US market, which it believes is already comfortable with this payment method.

As such, it expects the new system to help boost crypto adoption further.

Transak is licensed as a money transmitter in the US since 2022. According to the announcement, it has already onboarded 13 of its US partners, which includes notable names like crypto exchange Binance.

At the time of publication, the feature is only available for Transak users who have passed the level 2 KYC, which includes liveness, identity and address verification.

Transak’s aggressive expansion

Launched in 2018, Transak claims to serve over 5 million users across 160 countries.

The company raised $20 million in a Series A funding round in May 2023 and has since expanded its operations at a rapid pace. Over the past year, the firm has made several notable partnerships.

In January 2024, the platform partnered with payments giant Visa as a part of its Visa Direct program. The partnership allowed Transak users to directly convert their crypto balances into fiat.

Transak supports over 40 cryptocurrencies, and added PayPal’s stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), to its platform in June 2024.

Over the years the firm has partnered with multiple crypto wallet providers like Metamask, and most recently added support for VeWorld, the self-custody wallet for the VeChainThor blockchain in July. 

The integration followed its partnership with game developer Cometh, enabling direct crypto purchases for its game Cosmik Battle.

Transak also joined hands with decentralised identity platform Privado ID in June to introduce a novel on-chain ID verification system dubbed Reusable KYC.