Stablecoin wallet MiniPay is now available as a standalone application on iOS and Android, available to users in over 50 countries.
MiniPay is a lightweight, non-custodial stablecoin wallet built on Celo’s mobile-first Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain network and developed by Opera company Blueboard Limited.
According to the press release, MiniPay enables users to send funds globally without complexities, as if sending an email or a text.
Users can sign up using their phone number and a Google or iCloud account. This will also allow them to back up and restore their wallets. There are no seed phrases or wallet addresses, the team says
Furthermore, MiniPay allows free swaps between supported stablecoins via the Pockets feature. The latter was developed in partnership with Mento Labs. The announcement highlights that stablecoin support also serves as a safeguard against local fiat currency volatility.
Next, Celo enables users to send stablecoins globally for less than $0.01. It also provides local payments in specific regions via Mini Apps for purchases, donations, music streaming, etc.
Moreover, the team claims that its expanding partnership network enables moving between stablecoins and local currencies within a minute. Partners include Onramper, Transak, Binance, Unlimit, Yellow Card, Partna, Banxa, Fonbnk, Cashramp, and others.
7 Million Unique MiniPay Wallets to Date
MiniPay was launched in September 2023 and was originally an integration in Opera Mini. Per the announcement, it has onboarded over 7 million unique wallets to date. Also, it has become the most downloaded browser in Africa. Notably, the release as a standalone app on Android in October added one million downloads.
Therefore, the team expects that this latest move as well will boost the usage of stablecoins as an everyday, mainstream currency for global transfers, payments at local businesses, and savings.
“MiniPay becoming a standalone app is a crucial step in helping people around the world access the global dollar system,” said Jørgen Arnsen, EVP Mobile at Opera. Users can send, receive, spend, and save money “anywhere in the world, and then put their funds to use in so many different ways within our growing ecosystem of Mini Apps. And no one needs to know the complexities of blockchain or crypto,” Arnsen says.
The team emphasizes that MiniPay and Celo provide a near-zero fee solution. This is particularly relevant in regions like Africa and Latin America, where remittance flows enable users to support their families and local economies.
Additionally, the low-fee feature is necessary for freelancers, remote workers, and users in regions with volatile local currencies.
“The MiniPay wallet and its ecosystem of Mini apps allow millions of users to transact with stablecoins for everyday activities like saving, spending, streaming music, or paying for groceries on terms they understand, and in local currencies they trust,” said Rene Reinsberg, Celo Co-Founder and Celo Foundation President.
“As a standalone app, MiniPay and the Mini app ecosystem serve as the gateway to the new onchain economy, aligned with Celo’s mission to create prosperity for all,” Reinsberg concluded.
Meanwhile, MiniPay recently announced integration with Binance Connect, the official fiat-to-crypto gateway by crypto exchange Binance.
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