Binance’s fiat gateway partner Simplex adds support for two new currencies - JPY and CAD

Simplex, which provides fiat gateway infrastructure to several cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, Huobi and Poloniex, has added support for two new currencies - Japanese yen (JPY) and Canadian dollar (CAD).

Revealing the news exclusively to The Block on Monday, the Israel-based firm said the addition of JPY and CAD will allow its exchange clients to add support for the two currencies. This, in turn, would enable users to purchase cryptocurrencies with credit cards having base currency as JPY or CAD.

“We're not handling crypto directly ourselves but rather enable our partners to interact with the fiat world. We handle the fiat side of the purchase and our partners supply the crypto to the users,” Simplex founder and CEO, Nimrod Lehavi, told The Block.

Simplex’s addition of JPY and CAD doesn’t mean its crypto clients will by default add support for the two currencies. "Not all partners are going to add support for all currencies, but we see high demand for adding these and will roll out the service in the coming weeks with top exchanges,” Lehavi told The Block, without disclosing names.

Simplex has already been supporting three fiat currencies on its platform - the U.S. dollar (USD), euro (EUR) and the British pound (GBP), said Lehavi, adding: “CAD and JPY are just the first two currencies we are adding, with many more to come soon.”

When asked for specific details, Lehavi said Simplex will add Russian rubles and Turkish lira “very soon” and will explore other “high demand” currencies as well during 2020. As for adding JPY and CAD, Lehavi said Japan and Canada are one of the top markets for crypto and that they are also “among the top 10 territories for credit card usage globally.”

‘Fraudless’

Simplex claims to offer a “fraudless” payment processing platform with a “zero fraud guarantee.” Lehavi explained to The Block that every transaction is analyzed in the firm’s fraud prevention Artificial Intelligence (AI) proprietary system in “real time,” and if processed, it is “guaranteed” - meaning that if it ends up in a chargeback, Simplex pays the seller.

The platform also claims to offer cheaper services, which help users save on transaction fees. “Normal fees range between 2-3% and sometimes even higher rates apply, depending on the currency. When a Simplex user makes the purchase in his own card's base currency, like JPY for example, no forex fees will be added to the purchase, and simplex will handle the transaction,” Lehavi told The Block.

Simplex is currently working with “over 120 partners globally.” Besides Binance, Huobi and Poloniex, its crypto clients include OKCoin, KuCoin, Xapo, Ledger and Abra.

To date, Simplex has raised $18 million in funding, Lehavi told The Block, adding that the firm has an electronic money institution license in Lithuania, which is passported across the EU.

Headcount-wise, there are currently 100 people working for Simplex, said Lehavi, and that the firm is “always" looking for more developers.