Global Bitcoin Marketplace Paxful, teams up with SA’s Ovex, to launch new service

Paxful’s South African users can now convert their Bitcoin directly into local currency

South Africa, 18th August 2021: Paxful, the leading global peer-to-peer fintech platform, today announced Transfer to Bank. The service will debut first in South Africa via a partnership with OVEX, the South African-based cryptocurrency exchange platform specializing in over-the-counter (OTC) trading. Utilizing OVEX’s instant cashout mechanism, all Paxful users in South Africa will now be able to convert their Bitcoin directly into local currency (ZAR). This new, completely automated feature will work alongside all banks in South Africa. Paxful plans to open up the service to a handful of other countries in the following months. Additionally, the company expects to add Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) to Transfer to Bank in the future.

Acting as a local currency, the service offers the flexibility to either sell Bitcoin on the Paxful Marketplace or convert Bitcoin into the local currency with a few clicks. Paxful users in South Africa will now see the Transfer to Bankbutton on their Paxful Wallet. Before they convert their Bitcoin, they’ll see the current exchange rate and the fees included with the transfer. Once users are ready, they’ll input their banking information and how much they want to transfer. Transfers may take up to a day to process, but Paxful will let users know when it’s complete. Users can also check the status of their transfer by clicking on the Transactions button for a quick update.

Ray Youssef, CEO and co-founder of Paxful, said: “In order to have financial freedom, consumers need versatility, the choice to make the best financial decision at any given time. Transfer to Bank, which is unique for peer-to-peer platforms, is all about giving people the runway they need. Our users continue to be our number one priority and we’re excited for them to take even more ownership of their finances.”

Artur Schaback, COO and co-founder of Paxful, said: “Convenience is a big priority when it comes to finance -- and our users leverage Paxful for a variety of reasons. With Transfer to Bank, we now have multiple ways for users to trade and access their Bitcoin. We’re thrilled to see how our people interact with the product and plan to use those insights to make the platform even stronger.”

Jonathan Ovadia, CEO of OVEX, said: “We’re excited to partner with Paxful and bring this financial solution to their South African users. Paxful is devoted to leveraging crypto for the everyday users, especially for the people of Africa. Our aim with this partnership is to bring even more people onto the crypto-economy and change the way we conduct finance today.”

Founded in 2015 and completely bootstrapped since then, Paxful is headquartered in New York with offices in Estonia, the Philippines and Russia. The team has doubled in size over the last 12 months, growing to over 400 people.

About PaxfulPaxful is a peer-to-peer finance platform for people to make payments, transactions, and send money by buying and selling cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange. Founded in 2015 by Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback, Paxful’s mission is to help everyone have equal access to finance no matter who or where they are. Six million people use Paxful to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) with almost 400 different payment methods.

Ray Youssef, co-founder and CEO of Paxful, set up the Built with Bitcoin Foundation to help people have access to education and water. To date, the foundation has built four schools (two in Rwanda, one in Kenya, and one in Nigeria). The Built with Bitcoin Foundation is funded by Paxful and the cryptocurrency community.

Media contact: Kristina Bannan, Associate Director, Public Relations, PaxfulThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About OVEXFounded in February of 2017, OVEX is a South African cryptocurrency exchange platform, specializing in OTC trading and arbitrage, offering South Africa's largest selection of digital asset markets. The company is dedicated to improving the efficiency of the crypto market in South Africa and promoting financial market inclusivity. OVEX has partnered with several leading cryptocurrency companies and firms, including Invictus Capital, Hyperion, and TrueUSD. For more information, visit https://www.ovex.io/