The hosted wallet bot on Telegram, Wallet, states that merchants should independently verify whether their jurisdiction allows them to accept cryptocurrency payments.
The virtual currency payment industry has been continuously introducing new payment options. A Telegram bot named "Wallet" has now launched a virtual currency payment solution based on The Open Network (TON) blockchain, enabling users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) directly within the crypto-friendly communication tool, Telegram.
This service, also called "Wallet," allows users to conduct virtual currency payment transactions with retail businesses directly within the Telegram interface. Wallet shared this news with Cointelegraph on July 13, stating that this payment feature is immediately available in all jurisdictions supported by the Wallet service.
Currently, the regions supporting "Wallet Pay" include most countries, except for the United States and countries blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), such as Iran, Myanmar, and North Korea.
In some countries where Wallet operates, residents are not allowed to use virtual currencies for payments, thus Wallet places the compliance responsibility on local businesses.
A representative from Wallet said:
"Businesses should decide whether they are authorized to operate within their jurisdiction before applying to use Wallet Pay." Regions that prohibit residents from using virtual currency for payments and services include Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran, Egypt, and others. According to Statista, Russia officially banned virtual currency payments in 2020, yet it is the second-largest country for Telegram downloads, following India. Indonesia, Egypt, and Vietnam are also among the top ten countries for Telegram app downloads.
A representative from Wallet Pay noted that they are currently unsure which merchants will first try their payment feature, as the company has not yet started the "Know Your Business" (KYB) process. The spokesperson stated:
"Our support team has received several hundred requests, but we have not started the KYB process with these requests before the launch, so we do not know who will first implement this feature." The representative also emphasized that Wallet Pay's operations are completely independent from Telegram. The Wallet bot and app are based on the Telegram Web Apps open protocol, which allows developers to create their own apps and services on Telegram.
Wallet Pay's payment service can be accessed through a dedicated Telegram bot or the official "Wallet Pay" website. If users consider trying the service, they should ensure to verify the authenticity of the bot from the source.
Wallet Pay's new payment feature currently supports three virtual currencies, including Bitcoin and Toncoin (TON). The representative told Cointelegraph: "For now, Wallet is a custodial solution." Unlike self-custodial or non-custodial wallets like MetaMask, Telegram's Wallet bot is a custodial wallet, following an independent fee structure. The spokesperson also added that the payment fees for virtual currencies "will fluctuate between 1% and 3% during the testing period."
According to data currently released by Wallet, Telegram's Wallet bot charges a commission of 0.0004 BTC (approximately $12) for withdrawing cryptocurrencies from its custodial wallet. The withdrawal fees for USDT and TON are 2 USDT and 0.05 TON, respectively.
