Caricoin debuts bitcoin mobile wallet in Caribbean

Caricoin Ltd. announced Thursday the launch of what it calls “the mobile wallet of the Caribbean.”

Based in the UK with development offices in Jamaica, Caricoin said in a press release it’s offering the first social mobile money platform in the Caribbean to use bitcoin.

Downloadable as a free app on Google Play, the Caricoin wallet leverages the digital currency to allow users to send and receive funds, make online purchases and top up minutes on any mobile phone in the Caribbean. As a social platform, Caricoin includes a chat function to streamline communication between senders and receivers.

The mobile wallet was designed to meet the needs of the Caribbean people in mind, said the press release.

Caricoin said its platform is ideal for the region’s unbanked, roughly 50 percent of the total population, by removing barriers to accessing traditional financial services. According to the company’s website, registration occurs in a matter of seconds, bitcoin transactions are secure and private, accounts can never be seized or frozen and there are no set limits for sending and receiving bitcoin.

Caricoin said in the release it’s working on developing a zero-cost remittance corridor for people from the Caribbean region who are working overseas to support their families. These individuals would easily buy bitcoin from within the mobile wallet and then remit the funds home where loved ones can use them to pay bills or cash them out locally, the company said.

The wallet was built in partnership with blockchain security platform BitGo.

Image via the press release