Interview with ZipZap CEO Alan Safahi
Firstly, what’s ZipZap? ZipZap is a payment network through which people can buy bitcoins with cash and some other payment methods. Personally, any way to spread bitcoin to more people is great in every way, and more so when you give them easier ways to access bitcoin. From the website, it says that the team behind ZipZap expects digital currency to reduce poverty, create jobs, improve healthcare, and a couple more. I was able to arrange an interview with Alan Safahi, CEO at ZipZap, in which he answered a few short questions:
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CoinDesk spoke to Alan Safahi, CEO of cash-to-bitcoins service ZipZap, about its big entry into the Latin American market, bitcoin as a 'leapfrog technology' in the world's more volatile economies, and whether the company's recent issues with payment processor PayPoint would have any impact in future. Alan Safahi has just come back from San Francisco's CoinSummit where he says he spent far too much time fending off questions about whether his company would continue operations, after recent media articles. "Rumors of our death were exaggerated," he laughs, paraphrasing Mark Twain. "I was....
Global cash transaction network ZipZap has formally reinstated its bitcoin buying service at more than 20,000 partner retail locations in the UK. The news follows an abrupt halt of the company's digital currency services this March, when its UK-based payment processor PayPoint said it would require more regulatory clarification regarding bitcoin to support the offering. This resumed service is the result of ZipZap's new partnership with payments acceptance network Payzone. The Ireland-headquartered company has thus far indicated it does not share PayPoint's reservations about the....
Global cash payment network ZipZap has temporarily halted digital currency transactions, after partner and non-bitcoin payment processor PayPoint said it needed more clarification on surrounding regulations. ZipZap CEO Alan Safahi told CoinDesk the company had not ended its relationship with PayPoint, adding that it was still working with them for non-digital currency clients, and to add more payment locations. He said such issues were a fact of life for bitcoin businesses who needed to operate within the traditional fiat world. He added: "They only halted digital currency processing until....
It was with great excitement that ZipZap announced last year they would be adding thousands of cash-to-bitcoin locations in the United Kingdom - effectively allowing clients to purchase bitcoin at over 25,000 participating locations. Fast forward to the present time, and the program has come to a grinding halt. The company is currently not accepting cash for bitcoin in the country anymore, according to a report from CoinSpectator. The reason? "Ongoing" issues with PayPoint, the company that serves as ZipZap's payment processing backbone. PayPoint has asked ZipZap to stop accepting cash for....
Coin Telegraph: What is the status of ZipZap’s ability to process Bitcoin transactions with PayPoint? Alan Safahi: We are keeping communication lines open and making progress as more clarity comes out of government about Bitcoin in the UK. AS: We are relaunching in the UK with another cash payment provider with 20,000 locations in the next few weeks. CT: Are there plans to expand further into South America? How would you approach a market such as Argentina or Venezuela? CT: What were some of your takeaways from Bitcoin Conference 2014 in Amsterdam?