OpenPayd is a financial infrastructure provider that enables secure, global money movement. It offers a wide range of products/services, including payment remittances, stablecoin management, fiat on/off-ramps, and virtual bank accounts. The company handles significant volume, processing over $180 billion annually.
CEX.IO is a globally recognized cryptocurrency exchange that serves over 15 million users and processes around $50 million in daily trading volume. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of features, including crypto trading, staking, and storage, as well as a Web3 wallet swaps tool and a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp.
The two titans of industry have just joined forces, with OpenPayd selected as CEX.IO’s service provider for fiat payment operations and institutional settlement activity. The partnership will expand CEX.IO’s fiat services, introducing enhanced custodial accounts and efficiency improvements to treasury management and fund transfers.
OpenPayd’s CEO, Iana Dimitrova, had this to say about the partnership:
“CEX.IO operates at a global scale, with institutional clients who expect consistency across every touchpoint. The infrastructure underpinning that consistency is what allows exchanges to compete seriously for institutional flow. By choosing OpenPayd and consolidating fiat settlement into a single environment, CEX.IO is building the operational foundation required to support its next phase of growth.”
A Closer Look at the Partnership
OpenPayd’s infrastructure will empower CEX.IO, enabling it to offer multi-currency accounts that can store EUR, GBP, and USD, which is excellent for international customers who may have multiple bank accounts, frequently travel/move, or want to store funds in a non-local currency to protect against inflation and other risks.
The partnership will also enable CEX.IO to integrate FX capabilities, thereby expanding its utility and enabling superior treasury management.
Thanks to the upgrade, CEX.IO will be able to process EUR payment flows using SEPA and SEPA Instant, enabling near real-time settlement, faster reconciliation, and enhanced control; a significant advantage for institutions that frequently transact in Europe.
Where the exchange was previously dependent on fragmented banking partners, implementing OpenPayd’s unified infrastructure enables CEX.IO to route deposits, withdrawals, and internal flows more efficiently, enabling faster and more reliable settlement, which are essential considerations for institutional clients.
Discussing the importance of reliability and speed for institutions, Arina Dudko, CEX.IO’s Head of Corporate Payment Solutions, said:
“Institutional participants increasingly expect crypto platforms to match the speed, reliability, and transparency of traditional financial systems. This integration reflects our focus on closing that gap. By embedding OpenPayd’s real-time EUR settlement and unified treasury capabilities, we’re aligning our infrastructure with the standards institutions are used to—while preserving the flexibility of digital asset markets.”
Looking Forward
Streamlining transaction flows for institutional clients seems like a smart move in the current cryptocurrency landscape, where growing regulatory clarity is paving the way for institutional participation.
Bitcoin ETFs currently hold BTC worth over $100 billion, and European Bitcoin ETP products are rapidly gaining popularity as regulatory clarity increases, enabling institutional players to deploy significant capital.
The OpenPayd-CEX.IO partnership enables institutional-grade, real-time EUR settlement within a structured, regulated environment, while drastically reducing the friction in traditional banking arrangements. While the partnership is in its early days, capturing even a small percentage of Europe’s institutional volume would generate significant revenue for CEX.IO, which it could direct to further platform upgrades.
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