Kraken Partners with MoneyGram for Global Crypto Cash Withdrawals

Crypto exchange Kraken announced a global partnership with payments company MoneyGram on May 5, enabling its customers to convert cryptocurrency holdings into local cash at nearly 500,000 MoneyGram locations across more than 100 countries.

The service allows users to withdraw digital assets as fiat currency in hundreds of local currencies, with instant or near-instant payouts available through MoneyGram's extensive cash pickup network. Kraken handles customer onboarding and identity verification, while MoneyGram manages the regulated money transmission and payouts. Transactions incur a variable exchange fee. The initial rollout targets regions including the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia Pacific.

"This is the first step in a broader partnership, expanding over time to include local bank deposits and to utilize MoneyGram's cross-border remittance-style flows," Kraken stated in its announcement. The collaboration connects Kraken's liquidity, exchange, and compliance systems with MoneyGram's payment infrastructure, addressing a key challenge in crypto usability: converting digital assets to physical cash without relying solely on bank transfers,...