Bitcoin payment processor AstroPay has begun working with the Mt. Gox exchange to allow Latin American customers faster transfer times and quicker account deposits.
AstroPay, which targets the particularly active Latin American market, will allow Mt. Gox traders in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay to make deposits in USD to their Mt. Gox accounts. This way, they will be able to convert their money into Bitcoins within one business day.
Mt. Gox representatives announced the partnership in Buenos Aires last week, at the Latin American Bitcoin Conference.
This venue is of particularly note, given Bitcoin’s popularity in Argentina, a country with strict capital controls and whose citizens have been paying a premium for Bitcoins. However, AstroPay seems to have removed Argentina from the countries it serves in the Mt. Gox partnership.
A spokesperson from the Fundación Bitcoin Argentina expressed confusion about that issue but also noted Argentine Bitcoin users already have multiple exchange options with which they are familiar.
AstroPay is registered in the UK but operates in Latin America to fill in the gap left by a lack of other electronic payment such as credit cards and debit cards.
Online merchants in 11 South and Central American countries already accept pre-loaded AstroPay Cards, which are valued in USD and have transactions settled offshore. This allows Latin American customers to make purchases online while keeping the transactions untethered from their bank accounts.
Other AstroPay partners in that market include GoDaddy.com and Bet365.