BlockCypher announces that customers can use its blockchain API to make instant cross-border payments, no longer a proof of concept

BlockCypher, a company that markets itself as a blockchain ‘network service’ provider, has announced that it can make cross-border payments fast and easy, almost instantaneously.

As bitcoin and blockchain innovations continue to disrupt the payments industry, making it cheaper and faster, the B2B-focused financial technology company claims it is now able to offer instant cross-border settlements at a fraction of the cost of existing means, such as SWIFT.

BlockCypher is a network services provider, specifically providing Bitcoin wallet services to payment providers and exchanges.

BlockCypher CEO and co-founder Catheryne Nicholson said in the announcement:

“Many companies are struggling with the cost and processing time of international payments. But the costs are too high and it takes too long. BlockCypher’s solution enables nearly instant payments and can be used globally. This is more than a theoretical proof of concept.”

The company’s payment platform presents a number of products to clients, which they can access. The suite includes:

1. Confidence Factor API — The probability of a transaction being confirmed is calculated in seconds. BlockCypher’s biggest product.

2. Webhook API - Identify fraud and attempts to make duplicate payments.

3. Transaction API — allows creation and propagation of all transactions, including those with multi-signatures.

4. Address API - Verify and get detailed information about an address.

5. Ethereum APIs — enable smart contracts and can be triggered by certain rules.

The company added that its products are already in production for customers from all over the world, including Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. Their API is being used in more than 50 countries around the world, with more than 15 million API calls per day. BlockCypher also claims that companies using their toolkit have reduced developer costs by 35%.

BlockCypher's initial business positioning was to provide support for Bitcoin blockchain applications. In June 2015, through its confidence factor API, BlockCypher pointed out the feasibility of zero-confirmation transactions and no duplicate payments. In June of this year, the blockchain company announced support for Ethereum, enabling enterprises to build applications using the Ethereum protocol without the need for blockchain infrastructure.

Regardless of permissioned or open-source ledgers, BlockCypher’s API can be used on both public blockchains (like Bitcoin and Ethereum) and private blockchains.