Intuit Inc.'s Quickbooks (INTU), the accounting software provider for small businesses, is making an important step into the world of cryptocurrencies. Customers of the service will now be able to send international payments via the provider Veem, a blockchain payment service. This will be an alternative to the traditional wire transfer model which has previously been used for international payments. The goal will be to assist accounting professionals in streamlining their operations while simultaneously reducing fees.
Announcement at Money2020 Europe
The news came via an announcement earlier this week at Money2020 Europe and is now reported on by Coin Desk, among other sources. Veem aims to provider users of its service with the capacity to transfer funds internationally at a reduced cost, as opposed to the $40-50 fees typically incurred by traditional payments providers. Veem indicates that the spread between buying and selling a currency using its service typically ranges from 1.5% to 1.9%, depending upon the size of the transaction.
Service Between 24 Countries
Quickbooks users are currently able to send and receive money between 24 countries utilizing Veem's service. This also allows for greater flexibility to transact between different currencies.
The partnership between Intuit and Veem seems to come at a good time for both companies. Veem has recently rebranded itself, thanks in large part to a $24 million Series B funding round earlier this year. Intuit, on the other hand, has made inroads into the cryptocurrency and blockchain worlds as far back as 2014. In the past three years, the company has experimented with ways of empowering merchants to leverage the Bitcoin blockchain. The company first made its own R&D efforts and then later added Coinbase as a payment option for its merchants.
In this way, Intuit is one of many companies looking to capitalize on the newest technology in the fintech world. As Bitcoin has paved the way for other cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks, new improvements have been made and the distance between those financial startups and existing companies without digital currency footprints has grown shorter. In recent days, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi indicated its partnership with Ripple, another rising cryptocurrency, to incorporate software into its banking system to allow for increased flexibility and liquidity. A larger number of brick-and-mortar stores are also adopting blockchain and cryptocurrency payment methods, too. In the face of what used to be widespread fear among the broader public about the security, privacy, and reliability of the cryptocurrency field, more and more businesses are testing the waters. Intuit Quickbooks is thus at the forefront of what is likely to be a much larger trend to emerge among businesses of all kinds in the months to come.
