Ternio, a global FinTech platform, has integrated with Plaid, a financial data company, to help Ternio BlockCard bank accounts access faster and more secure connections to financial accounts, according to a press release.
Through the integration with Plaid, Ternio users will be able to instantly authenticate bank accounts to help make transfers to their cryptocurrency-friendly BlockCard accounts, the release stated. With Plaid, users are able to link bank accounts securely near-instantaneously, through using login credentials rather than verifying through micro-deposits, which could help to cut down on fraud.
“Integrating with Plaid is a big step in providing a more seamless and efficient user experience for BlockCard customers,” said Ternio Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Ian Kane, in the release. “We’ve designed our platform to be incredibly user-friendly, which is especially important when you consider our ultimate goal is to bring cryptocurrency and digital payments to the mainstream. Our customers will be able to link their existing financial institution to their crypto-friendly BlockCard bank account to easily move U.S. dollars between all of their accounts.”
Earlier this year, Ternio started to allow U.S. customers to activate their FDIC-insured BlockCard bank accounts. The BlockCard accounts are crypto-friendly and function like regular checking accounts. They also add the benefit of letting users deposit to their BlockCard accounts or purchase cryptocurrency through several crypto exchanges in the app dashboard, the release stated.
Kane and Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Gouldman talked with PYMNTS earlier this year about the slow transition of cryptocurrency from a “Wild West”-style landscape with a lack of regulations into something mainstream. By bridging the gap, Kane said, the digital payments ecosystem will benefit from a fuller way to use crypto. The process of going further will require interoperability across numerous platforms worldwide with an "agnostic" approach for denominations, including everything from digital dollars to euros or pesos.
