Gemini exchange partners with licensed crypto payments processor in UK

The Winklewoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini is continuing to consolidate its regulated services for clients in the United Kingdom.

On Oct. 12, Gemini announced a partnership with BCB Group — a European crypto-focused payment processor that already works with major platforms such as Coinbase, Bitstamp and Galaxy Digital.

BCB Group is focused on institutional payments services and offers business accounts and crypto market liquidity for “crypto-engaged” financial institutions. The Group’s core subsidiary was officially approved by the Financial Conduct Authority as an authorized payment institution (API) earlier this year.

Collaborating with BCB is intended to provide Gemini’s clients in the U.K. with faster options for sending and receiving British pounds. The exchange will be connected to BCB’s API, simplifying Gemini’s interactions with various banks and fiat currencies, and reducing the need for manual intervention in transaction processing.

The development will help Gemini “secure access to real-time settlement infrastructure, enabling us to integrate with our banking partners,” according to Gemini’s chief compliance officer for Europe, Blair Halliday. A spokesperson for the exchange told Cointelegraph that Gemini’s U.K. customers can make pound deposits and withdrawals via the Faster Payments scheme, CHAPS, and SWIFT transfers, as well as linking their debit cards to Gemini accounts:

Our integration with BCB Group’s API specifically enables us to streamline the steps involved in processing these wire transfers into and out of customer accounts.

Gemini has this year expanded to the U.K., where it has been approved as a registered crypto asset firm by the FCA, in compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing obligations. It has also been granted an Electronic Money Institution license in the country.