Bitcoin service provider Unocoin has joined hands with digital payments solutions provider PayUmoney to enable Unocoin users to buy Bitcoin using the PayUmoney Wallet. With this partnership, users can avail more alternatives apart from the standard NEFT/IMPS/RTGS transfers.

Unocoin users will have to create a registered PayU wallet to buy Bitcoin with PayU. Both the Unocoin wallet and PayU wallet must be registered under the same mobile number. The user needs to load his PayU wallet using debit card/credit card/ internet banking and then can log into the Unocoin wallet and select the buy with PayU money option under the ‘Buy Bitcoin’ tab. Once the payment is confirmed, the user will receive the requested amount of Bitcoin in his Unocoin wallet.

Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO, Unocoin, in an earlier interaction with YourStory stated that Unocoin offers customers Rs 200 for free on signing up. Bengaluru-based Unocoin raised $250,000 from Barry Silbert's Bitcoin Opportunity in 2014.

Founded in 2013, Unocoin operates a BTC-INR trading platform that enables Indians to buy, sell, store, use and accept bitcoin. The startup every month processes transactions worth more than Rs 20 crore for its user base of more than 110,000 customers. Since its inception, Unocoin has drawn more than 30 investors from five countries.

“Unocoin is responsible for industry-leading innovations such as the Bitcoin Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), Bitcoin Point of Sale (POS) App and Bitcoin Over-The-Counter trading (OTC),” said the company.

With its recently launched mobile app on iOS and Android, Unocoin aims to offer a full featured mobile Bitcoin app. The app offers 24/7 access to real-time Bitcoin market prices and trading transactions. Moreover, Unocoin had opened up its API for the public to build businesses over its services.

“The partnership with PayU is coming at a time when we are seeing a huge increase in the number of wallet users in India. The ease with which payments can be made via wallets like PayU is certainly going to benefit the Bitcoin buyers and increase accessibility to Bitcoin markets. This is our Christmas gift to Unocoin users,” said Sathvik.

In India, PayU covers nearly 60 percent of the entire e-commerce space and processes over Rs 40,000 crore of digital payments annually. PayUBiz counts Jet Airways, Amazon, Airtel, Snapdeal, Jabong, Ola, and Bookmyshow among its clients.

PayUmoney is currently used by more than two lakh merchants from across India. In September this year, PayU had acquired Indian payments technology company Citrus Pay for $130 million in an all cash deal. According to PayU, this acquisition will help the global payments company add more than 30 million customers to its user base.

“Given the current digital payments drive following the demonetisation of currency notes, we are optimistic about the future of Bitcoin,” said Rahul Kothari, Head, PayUBiz.