Lightspark, a leading Bitcoin Lightning Network payments company, has announced the launch of Lightspark Extend, a new solution that enables businesses to facilitate instant Lightning payments to eligible account holders in the United States.
🚀 NOW LIVE: Lightspark Extend connects Lightning to eligible US account holders in real-time. With Lightspark Extend, you can seamlessly send UMA-powered payments to eligible US recipients instantly and at a low cost. Learn more here: https://t.co/B2O0or8e9k photo.twitter.com/F85VraLknl
— Lightpark (@lichtpark) August 28, 2024
Lightspark Extend integrates with Universal Money Addresses (UMA) and Lightning-enabled wallets, exchanges, or bank accounts, providing a compliant and cost-effective solution for 24/7 payments. The platform is compatible with over 99% of U.S. banks that accept real-time payments, and enables businesses to offer their customers fast, low-cost transactions directly to eligible recipients.
Available in 120 countries, UMA simplifies sending value by using a human-friendly address similar to an email, eliminating the need to remember complex codes or passwords. The launch of Lightspark Extend now makes this capability accessible in the US, allowing recipients with real-time payment accounts to receive UMA-powered payments via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
Lightspark also noted in the announcement that businesses wishing to use Lightspark Extend can sign up for a UMA address, link eligible accounts, and begin receiving payments through an onboarding process facilitated by Zero Hash, a regulated U.S. financial institution.
The launch of Lightspark Extend marks another step forward in making instant, low-cost Bitcoin payments more accessible to businesses and consumers in the US, expanding the reach and usability of the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
Just last week, Lightspark announced that Coinbase customers can now make instant Bitcoin transactions up to $10,000 via the Lightning Network, thanks to their partnership.