In a landmark move for financial innovation in Latin America, Guatemala’s largest banking institution, Banco Industrial, has integrated blockchain-based infrastructure from SukuPay into its mobile payment app, Zigi. The integration aims to drastically reduce remittance costs and waiting times for Guatemalan families receiving money from abroad, particularly the United States.
SukuPay, described as an “invisible” crypto infrastructure provider, enables users to send and receive funds without needing a crypto wallet or International Bank Account Number (IBAN). This allows cross-border payments to be made instantly and at a flat fee of just $0.99, transforming how remittances are handled in a region heavily reliant on these transactions.
No Crypto Knowledge Needed
The standout feature of this integration lies in its simplicity: users do not need to understand or interact with cryptocurrency technology to benefit from blockchain’s speed and cost-efficiency. According to SukuPay CEO Yonathan Lapchik, this seamless experience is key to driving mass adoption.
“The key to mainstream adoption of blockchain technology is making it invisible to the end-user,” said Lapchik. “That’s the only way we’ll scale blockchain to billions of people—by building the rails, not forcing people to learn how they work.”
This approach positions blockchain as a backend technology powering efficient finance, rather than a front-facing tool requiring user expertise.
Remittances: The Region’s Lifeline
Remittances play a critical socio-economic role in Guatemala and the wider Latin American region. In 2024, the Inter-American Development Bank projects remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean will total $161 billion. For Guatemala specifically, these inflows exceed $21 billion annually, often representing the main source of income for recipient families.
Banco Industrial has a long-term issuer default rating of BB. Source: Fitch Ratings
Yet, traditional remittance services are plagued with high fees and long delays. Fees can range between 6% and 10%, cutting deeply into transfers that typically range from $300 to $400 per month. Lapchik emphasises how blockchain provides a much-needed solution:
“Crypto solves this when it’s used the right way. It lets us move money instantly and at a fraction of the cost, integrated into the bank apps people already use.”
Crypto Adoption Rising, Guatemala Catching Up
While Latin America is the second-fastest-growing region for crypto adoption globally, Guatemala has lagged behind countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, according to a 2024 Chainalysis study. One of the primary adoption drivers in the region is the use of stablecoins, digital assets pegged to fiat currencies—which offer a stable, efficient way to transact across borders.
Crypto adoption in Latin America by total value received. Source: Chainalysis
Lapchik notes that users are not seeking crypto itself but the functionality it enables:
“People don’t wake up saying, ‘I need a stablecoin.’ Stablecoins are just the best way to make that happen.”
The integration of stablecoin-enabled payments into Banco Industrial’s Zigi app demonstrates how crypto infrastructure can be delivered without friction, laying the groundwork for broader financial inclusion.
A Milestone for Latin America’s Financial Evolution
Established in 1968, Banco Industrial operates over 1,600 service points in Guatemala and also has a presence in Honduras, Panama, and El Salvador. The integration with SukuPay marks one of the first instances of a crypto-native protocol being deployed inside a major Latin American retail bank, a milestone for the region.
As remittance-dependent economies seek better ways to facilitate capital flows, this partnership offers a blueprint for how blockchain can quietly and powerfully modernise traditional banking, creating real-world impact without requiring users to navigate the complexities of crypto.
