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LitePay is the payment processor of Litecoin where retailers can accept Litecoin payments instantly from anywhere in the world, a Litecoin press release has stated. A Litecoin wallet will be available where users can load Litecoins onto a LitePay card which will be supported worldwide.

What is LitePay? LitePay is the payment processor of Litecoin and businesses will be able to accept payment in Litecoin and the company’s Litecoin-exclusive debit card. LitePay will allow businesses to accept Litecoin payments by instantly processing the payments that are settled directly with their banks. The cryptocurrency is stored in a digital wallet where service users can manage their Litecoin payments and activity and load coins onto the LitePay card - the money is taken directly from the Litecoin wallet. Businesses will also be able to accept the cryptocurrency for payments as well.

Getty LitePay launch: When does LitePay launch in the UK?

The website states: “The service provides value to two fundamentally different kinds of clientele for two different reasons. “Firstly, it gives merchants an added incentive to begin accepting Litecoin because the payment processor assumes the risk of accepting the crypto - protecting merchants from market volatility. Secondly, it gives Litecoin holder more liquify in the short-term with their debit cards.” Litecoin has said will have much quicker transaction times compared to Bitcoin and significantly cheaper fees. Bitpay - a Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash transaction processor - charges consumer $5 dollars per transaction to make payments in Bitcoin which reportedly take longer to confirm. In comparison, Litecoin has said payments would be processed by LitePay instantaneously and settled directly with their bank.

Getty LitePay will charge a flat 1% per transaction compared to BitPay's $5 transaction fees

When does LitePay launch? Litepay is on track to be released on February 26, creator of Litecoin Charlie Lee said on Twitter. The transaction processor was initially made public just before Christmas by the Litecoin Foundation. It has been called a “game-changer for Litecoin” by Palwasha Saaim, a Research Analyst at Lombardi Financial. She said: “It would allow businesses to accept Litecoin without worrying about price volatility.” When businesses accept the cryptocurrency at a given price at a given time, they will be paid that final value - they do not have to be concerned about any price changes.

I believe they are still on track for the 26th — Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) February 8, 2018

Getty LitePay users will be able to load funds onto the Visa-compatible LitePay cards

Where will you be able to use LitePay? LitePay users will be able to convert litecoins to dollars and vice versa through the LitePay cards. The LitePay card takes the money directly from the Litecoin wallet. LitePay will charge a flat 1% fee per transaction, compared to standard credit card fees which are around 3% and the BitPay transaction fee of $5 dollars per transaction.

Cryptocurrency price: A year in charts Mon, March 12, 2018 Compare crypto currencies (Ripple, Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin) on value, market cap and supply for the past year Play slideshow coindesk.com 1 of 10 LiteCoin is going down with the market dip

What is Litecoin? Litecoin - which uses the acronym LTC - is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and was launched in October 2011 by engineer Charlie Lee. It was created as an upgrade to Bitcoin and was created through the original Bitcoin source and incorporated some of Bitcoin’s code. Lee created Litecoin to be the silver to Bitcoin’s gold but the main difference to lie in the transaction speed. Litecoin is used to transfer funds directly between businesses and people without the requirement of intermediaries such as banks. This process reduces any major processing fees involved with traditional payments and reduces delays in the payment process.

Getty The launch of LitePay mean payments can be accepted instantly worldwide