Brazilian financial services provider Dock said on Friday it will start using cryptocurrencies to process international remittances, as it expands to Latin America and Europe.
Brazilian reais will be converted into Bitcoin then into another currency, such as the dollar, and will reach end users through Dock customers such as Vivo and Natura&Co.
"It will be both a quick and cheap way of making remittances," Frederico Amaral, head of products and technology at Dock, said.
International transfers have been an increasingly coveted niche for FinTechs such as Remessa Online and Wise that can sell services more cheaply than large banks.
Created in 2014 after being acquired by the North American venture capital fund Riverwood Capital, Dock until last year was named Conductor.
Dock in December received approval from the Brazilian Central Bank to buy rival Brasil Pre-pagos, which brought with it a financial institution licence.
In July, Reuters reported that Dock had hired banks for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US.
According to Mr Amaral, the US listing is a natural path for the company, but there is no rush because the company still has part of the $170 million it received at the end of 2020 from investors such as Temasek, Viking Global and Sunley House, a unit of Advent International.
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
