Harbour Teams with Velocity Labs to Launch Instant Stablecoin Payment Between EU Banks and Polkadot

[PRESS RELEASE – London, UK, December 19th, 2024]

Harbour, in partnership with Velocity Labs, announces the launch of their stablecoin payment system “Magic Ramp”, connecting SEPA Instant payment rails with Polkadot. This collaboration seamlessly integrates TradFi banking systems into Web3, providing efficient, low-cost payment solutions.

Magic Ramp allows Euros to be sent from any bank account and received as USDC on-chain in less than 30 seconds, with minimal fees while funds held in Web3 wallets can be received as Euros in bank accounts with the same speed. For the first six weeks following the launch, these bank-to-on-chain transactions will be available at no cost. Through this partnership, developers can now issue virtual IBANs that are linked to Polkadot wallet addresses and bridge SEPA Instant payment rails in Europe with the Polkadot Asset Hub.

James Brownlee, CEO of Harbour, shared, “Polkadot’s infrastructure enables instant, low-cost stablecoin transfers, which aligns with our goal of making blockchain interoperable with traditional banking. This partnership expands the design space for developers working on stablecoin-based solutions.”

Potential use cases include efficient on-and-off ramps for Web3 users, stablecoin payment gateways for merchants who prefer receiving Euros, international payroll, bill payments, and cross-border remittances.

Nicolas Arevalo, CEO of Velocity Labs, stated “Among all the on-ramp providers we’ve worked with, Harbour stood out by blending the convenience of on-ramps with the speed and cost of CEX on-ramping. This will allow stablecoins in Polkadot to become seamlessly accessible with negligible fees.”

Harbour’s Magic Ramp makes it simple for traditional banking entities to integrate with Web3 in a way that addresses practical challenges in payments to meet evolving market needs.

For more information, users can visit Harbour.fi or try out the Magic Ramp at https://ramp.harbour.fi/polkadot

For media inquiries, users may contact Jonathan Duran at Jonathan@Distractive.xyz

About Harbour

Harbour.fi is an innovative payments platform bridging traditional banking and blockchain rails with Stablecoins. Harbour is headquartered in the United Kingdom with a branch in Poland, EU.

About Velocity Labs

Velocity Labs is a core contributor to Polkadot, dedicated to transforming it into the premier platform for DeFi development in Web3. As strategic partners, we empower builders and infrastructure providers with comprehensive support across business development, go-to-market strategy, engineering support, and product strategy.