Rpay’s OFAC license issuance signals that building trust with U.S. regulators in the crypto industry is achievable when companies provide tangible value to ordinary people
Rpay, a stablecoin wallet built by the team behind Reserve used throughout Latin America by regular people for savings, shopping, payroll, and remittances, announced it has successfully secured a license from U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury responsible for administering and enforcing economic and trade sanctions, to help Venezuelan residents protect their savings from hyperinflation and devaluation.
Rpay has been working with the United States government to obtain this license in order to contribute to the strategic vision of providing a means of stable payments for Venezuelan residents. The International Monetary Fund’s report on Crypto Assets and CBDCs in Latin America and the Caribbean, discusses Rpay as having “proved successful in preserving savings and protecting [peoples’] livelihoods, granting the benefits of crypto assets but without their extreme volatility.”
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This precedent comes at a time when prominent companies like Paxful and Uphold were compelled to cease their services due to the formidable challenges posed by sanctions compliance. The ability of Rpay to navigate these challenges successfully sets them apart in the industry.
OFAC and the Department of State learned about the Rpay platform and OFAC agreed to offer a license that does not absolve Rpay of its compliance duties, but does eliminate the growing compliance risk. The license still requires Rpay to screen out Venezuela government employees, but effectively offers safe harbor so long as certain screening methods are applied, meaning that the risk from certain sanctioned individuals that go undetected is dramatically reduced. This is sufficient for Rpay to continue operating in the country with confidence.
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“This license is a victory not only for the project but for arguably the most vulnerable population in Latin America,” commented Gabo Jiménez, CEO of Rpay. “While a deep negative sentiment is all over the crypto industry due to speculation narratives and Exchanges with “casino” mindset taking the center stage, we’re forging a different path. Instead of increasing our risk we decided to ask the government to work directly with us to find a solution. Our mission is to create solutions that address the real challenges of financial exclusion. We envision a future where crypto as any other technology available is a means to empower individuals with equal opportunities to access financial services. It’s time to redirect our attention towards meaningful change and foster authentic value for society and we strongly believe that the United States is still the right place for entrepreneurs to make it happen.”
As part of the crypto ecosystem, Rpay aims to make a difference by demonstrating that it is possible to comply with regulations while also having a positive impact on people’s lives through new technologies.
Rpay has more than 600k registered users across Latin America. It has had $5.7B in cumulative volume transacted since its launch in 2020 and recently adopted the decentralized stablecoin Electronic Dollar (eUSD), which includes safeguards for users in the event of a stablecoin depegging. eUSD is overcollateralized and backed 1:1 by a diversified basket of yield-bearing assets utilizing Compound and Aave that can autonomously recapitalize in adverse market conditions.
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