Banco Industrial, Guatemala’s largest bank, employs Stablecoin Rails from Sukupay, a blockchain company that allows customers to send remittances from the US.
Sukupay will allow Guatemalans to receive funds from the US at a flat rate of 99 cents, using only phone numbers within the Banco National Mobile App Zigi, according to an announcement emailed Wednesday.
“This integration was when encryption and native protocols first existed at this depth among Latin America’s finest retail banks,” Sukupay said in the announcement.
Sukupay developer Suku announced the payment tool in April 2024 as a way to allow cross-border remittances without the need to create crypto wallets. Built on Ethereum Scaling Network Polygon and uses USDC Stablecoin.
Currently, a nearly $200 billion asset class, Stablecoins is one of Crypto’s most practical success stories. Their lock in Fiat currencies like the US dollar has become a popular tool for payment, remittance and saving, especially in developing countries with limited banking access or unstable local currencies.
Sukupay’s integration into Banco Industrial highlights how blockchain-based rails quietly enter the financial mainstream, not as an investment vehicle, but as invisible plumbing for actual money movements.
Remittances to Guatemala are around $21 billion a year, which is almost 20% of the country’s GDP.
According to World Bank FindEx data, as of 2022, only 35% of Guatemala adults with access to formal bank accounts are the leading market for tools that can improve financial inclusion.