Bitrefill, a popular platform that sells gift cards for bitcoin, announced a partnership with Hugo App, a startup that provides various services in El Salvador, including food delivery, transportation, and ecommerce and payment solutions. The collaboration will enable bitcoin, the newest legal tender in the Central American country, to be exchanged for the broad range of products and services offered by Hugo.
“Bitrefill is incredibly excited to be partnering with the pioneer of startups in El Salvador,” said Sergej Kotliar, Bitrefill CEO, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. The company’s vision is to enable anyone, anywhere, to live on bitcoin, and “Hugo is one broad selection of services available at a keystroke,” added Kotliar.
Before announcing the collaboration, Bitrefill had already processed tens of thousands of purchases in El Salvador for groceries, mobile top-ups, and online gaming. The firm shared with Bitcoin Magazine that it believes Hugo will “round out” their offering in El Salvador “nicely with the addition of all of its product offerings.”
Hugo is already the most popular delivery service in the nation and operates in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. Before the company’s series A round in 2020, it was reportedly estimated to rake in $50 million in yearly revenue. Hugo’s massive success in Central America also allowed it to squash Uber there.
On the backend, Bitrefill provides products and services that enable an uncomplicated usage of bitcoin as a medium of exchange, allowing people worldwide to live on the peer-to-peer digital currency. The platform provides various gift cards, prepaid phone refills, and Lightning Network services that people can purchase with BTC in many countries. By collaborating with Hugo, the company expects to further enlarge its product and service offerings in El Salvador while enabling Salvadorans to leverage their country’s Bitcoin law.