- Banco Industrial integrates SukuPay’s blockchain into Zigi app, enabling $0.99 remittances via phone number, settling in 20 seconds.
- Guatemala’s $21B remittance market gains speed; funds via Apple Pay, Walmart cash pickups with invisible blockchain backend.
Guatemala City, Guatemala — Banco Industrial (BI), one of Guatemala’s largest banks, has embedded blockchain technology into its mobile app Zigi, enabling near-instant cross-border remittances from the U.S. at a fixed fee of $0.99.
The integration, powered by SukuPay’s infrastructure, marks the first large-scale blockchain adoption by a Central American bank, targeting a market where annual remittances exceed $21 billion.
Users in Guatemala can now receive funds sent from the U.S. using only a phone number, bypassing traditional requirements like IBAN codes or cryptocurrency wallets. Transactions settle in under 20 seconds via familiar channels—Apple Pay, debit cards, or cash pickups at retail partners like Walmart. The blockchain layer operates invisibly, meaning users interact with Zigi as usual, unaware of the underlying technology.
“This isn’t about crypto hype,” said SukuPay CEO Yonathan Lapchik. “It’s real infrastructure solving real problems, whether users are banked or not.”
Guatemala ranks second in Latin America for remittance inflows, trailing only Mexico. Yet traditional services often charge fees up to 5% per transfer and take days to process. BI’s move directly addresses these pain points, leveraging blockchain to reduce costs and delays.
Michel Caputi, BI’s strategic partnerships director, stated the integration sets a “new benchmark” for regional banking. Rather than developing proprietary systems, BI partnered with SukuPay to embed compliant blockchain tools without overhauling existing frameworks.
The collaboration reflects a growing trend among banks to adopt fintech solutions externally rather than building them internally. By integrating SukuPay, BI maintains regulatory compliance and customer trust while modernizing services.
The approach also sidesteps common barriers to blockchain adoption, such as user unfamiliarity. Unlike crypto exchanges or wallets, Zigi requires no technical knowledge, broadening accessibility for Guatemala’s rural and underbanked populations.
Guatemala’s reliance on remittances—which account for ~20% of GDP—makes it a testing ground for blockchain’s practical utility. If successful, BI’s model could inspire similar adoptions across Latin America, where high fees and slow transfers persist.
As Caputi noted, “Speed and simplicity aren’t luxuries. They’re what our customers deserve.” With this move, BI positions itself at the forefront of a quiet but consequential evolution in global finance.
