Peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace Paxful has entered into a partnership with peer-to-peer exchange and digital wallet Airtm to extend the trading platform opportunity to developing countries.

Paxful connects bitcoin buyers and sellers on its platform, and users are able to buy and sell bitcoin as well as send, receive and store bitcoin through their Paxful bitcoin wallet.

Airtm, a global operation with most users based in Latin America, works in a similar way - it connects peers who wish to buy and sell dollars or cryptocurrencies, allowing them to deposit and withdraw.

According to a statement issued by the partners, with P2P crypto trading growing in Latin America, especially Venezuela (Airtm's largest market), Airtm will help Paxful grow in the region by promoting the platform as the ideal P2P platform for buying bitcoin.

At the same time, Paxful will help Airtm grow among its users in Africa, promoting Airtm's dollar pegged token AirUSD as a stable option to use for bitcoin transactions.

Users will be able to fund and withdraw from their Paxful bitcoin accounts using Airtm as a payment method, the companies have stated.

Ruben Galindo, Airtm CEO. "There are many synergies between Airtm and Paxful, and we are excited to partner with them to offer more possibilities to our users and expand globally. Both Airtm and Paxful believe in the future of peer-to-peer finance. In efforts to aid the unbanked and those affected by hyperinflation, this partnership will allow us to join forces with Paxful under one unified voice."

Ray Youssef, co-founder, and CEO of Paxful, said, "As we continue our work in emerging markets, this growth is sure to accelerate. We hope to see economic stability for the underrepresented take flight in Latin America, and want to be the ones paving the way for those freedoms."

Jumio alliance

In April 2019 Paxful teamed up with digital identity and address verification firm Jumio to bolster anti-money laundering (AML) procedures and implement Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements into the marketplace.

According to a media statement issued by Paxful, Jumio's AI-powered Trusted Identity Service and verification process will help minimise risk "and ensure all users have submitted proper documentation."

The technology will be used to combat fraud and maintain compliance when on-boarding users.

"By adding Jumio's ID verification to the platform, Paxful has taken a stance to improve its AML procedures and compliance program in every operating country," reads the company's statement.

Experts in Africa's cryptocurrency market say South Africa and Nigeria lead in terms of adoption.