Your salary could soon be paid in a cryptocurrency

Salary payments in crypto moved a step closer this week.

- CHRIS BLACKHURST

A partnership was announced between AllUnity, a regulated e-money operator, and Zebec, a specialist in developing networks for payroll payments using stablecoins.

Stablecoins are a form of digital cash pegged to sovereign currencies, such as the dollar, to mitigate the volatility associated with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The tokens can be used to make payments outside the traditional banking system (or “tradfi”).

AllUnity is owned by Deutsche Bank’s asset manager, DWS, Galaxy and Flow Traders. Its stablecoin, Eurau, is backed by the Euro. The joint venture is set to transform how and when workers receive their salaries and catapult crypto into the wider public arena, hugely expanding blockchain technology and its usage in common financial operations.

Consumers will no longer be reliant on bank settlements and systems, vulnerable to bank IT glitches and holiday closures. “Eurau will be supported across Zebec’s expanding suite of crypto card products, including an exclusive branded payment card compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay,” says an announcement. “This will allow users to seamlessly and instantly convert their payroll earnings into spendable funds at millions of merchants worldwide.” It all sounds very exciting.