The round was led by China-based Huiyin Blockchain Venture, with participation from existing investors Digital Currency Group, Boost VC and Draper VC.
Ripio plans to use the new funding to expand its services into Brazil and Mexico, initially through its wallet service but later adding the credit system. The company is aiming to use digital currencies to encourage financial inclusion in South America, where credit card ownership is generally below 20% and many millions do not even have a bank account.
As part of the news, BitPagos is also renaming itself to Ripio, which means gravel in Spanish. That’s also the name of its consumer credit product, which enables those with limited banking history to get credit through the use of its consumer wallet service.
Ripio plans to allow users to buy online, and elsewhere, using its wallet app for Android — an iOS version is also planned. Once a user has built up a spending history, the company can use that data as a credit history to help them take micro-loans or other kinds of financial services that would ordinarily be out of their reach, reports TechCrunch.
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