Stephanie Douse 
Rappi launched a pilot project to accept cryptocurrencies as payment. Users will be able to purchase Rappi credits with cryptocurrency to use later on the app’s various services.
Rappi, one of Latin America’s largest delivery services, has decided to integrate cryptocurrencies into its app. The company, which had a valuation of more than $5 billion in its Series G funding round last year, announced that it will allow customers to use cryptocurrencies as a payment method, allowing them to purchase Rappi credits directly from the app.
These Rappi credits can then be used to pay for the app’s delivery services. The Colombian company, which became the first Colombian unicorn in 2018, has a presence in almost every country in Latin America, including Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Rappi, on the other hand, has stated that this new pilot project will be limited to Mexican users and has made no mention of a possible expansion.
This incorporation of cryptocurrencies responds to the rise of the digital world and the search for new ways for users to interact with the app. Sebastián Mejia, president of Rappi, stated the importance of innovation and cryptocurrencies for the company’s future:
“Innovation is one of the pillars of Rappi. We are studying the crypto world with interest and we believe that the future is the intersection of the crypto world with non-crypto companies, with easy user experiences and without complexity.”
While the pilot project is still in its early stages, the company did announce that it was collaborating with local exchanges to further integrate their services and make it easier for customers to spend their cryptocurrencies in the app. Rappi named Bitso and Bitpay as participants in this regard, both of which have a presence in the country.
Rappi also stated that the company is working to improve the security of transactions between exchanges and the app. Other companies in Latin America are also working to incorporate cryptocurrency into their business models. This is the case with Nequi, a Colombian fintech platform that intends to enter the country’s crypto sector.