Circle was granted an e-money license by the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK watchdog.
Circle offers its users the opportunity to send not just written messages along with their money transfers, but also emojis and even animated videos, following in the footsteps of Chinas WeChat Pay and AliPay.
Circle launched in the US at the end of 2015, and is now allowing cross-currency transfers of GBP and USD at rates that it says are better than other money transfer services, and with no added fee. It will soon also allow transfers in and out of EUR, when it launches in the rest of Europe later in the year.
But if a customer is sending money to a country where Circle has not yet launched, it is transferred into Bitcoin, then transferred and settled via the blockchain network that validates Bitcoin transactions. At the other end, the Bitcoin is then transferred back into the currency of that particular country.
Barclays Corporate Banking is providing the account that Circle needs to store sterling for consumers, and the infrastructure to allow transfers from any UK bank account in and out of Circle.
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