Dash Text, a wallet service enabling Dash transactions via SMS message, has launched its public beta in Venezuela.
The service operates Dash wallets by SMS-based commands, sent to a five-digit shortcode similar to those used in popular SMS voting. This enables anyone with a cell phone of any kind to transact in Dash without an internet connection, a particular bonus in a country where only 40% of the population has access to a smartphone, and which has experienced electrical and internet outages due to its ongoing economic crisis. Dash Text was funded by Dash treasury proposal:
According to Dash Text co-founder and CTO Lorenzo Rey, he was inspired by the lack of access to appropriate phones for Dash usage, as well as popular Bitcoin Cash-based SMS wallet service CoinText:
“I saw how many people wanted to use Dash but couldn’t due to poor signal or bad cellphones, but the idea came from a similar service in Venezuela that uses SMS for payments in bolivars. I started to look if there was something similar already in crypto and found Cointext. tried to contact them but got no response, and decided to develop it on my own.”
Dash Text is currently in public beta and is available to be used by customers of Movistar, one of the three major telecommunications companies in Venezuela. Support on the other two is expected soon upon the platform’s wide release.
Dash Text enables practically free cross-border remittances without internet access
A key benefit of Dash Text is its applicability to remittances. This is due to the ability for anyone in the country to receive funds to their phone regardless of access to internet, instantly, from anywhere in the world, enabling virtually free remittance payments. This is particularly important in Venezuela because of the country’s strong reliance on remittance payments amid its economic crisis, as well as new regulations severely restricting the remittance industry and making receiving cross-border payments much more difficult.
Additionally, Dash Text plans an integration into local point-of-sale systems, allowing SMS-based Dash payments to be used to directly purchase goods and services, without having to transfer or otherwise cash out the payment. A user will be able to receive funds on their mobile and instantly use them to pay for services or goods such as food.
Venezuela’s cryptocurrency success story continues to grow.
Dash’s adoption continues to surge in Venezuela in what may be one of the biggest success stories in the history of cryptocurrency. Over the course of a year-long campaign, monthly conferences have been held, and the merchant adoption program has onboarded over 1,500 merchants, nearly half of Dash’s global total. According to Dash Merchant Venezuela’s head of business development Alejandro Echeverría, this is due to the project’s professional and dedicated sales and customer support team:
“The main reason [for Dash’s incredible adoption in Venezuela] is because we have a specialized team focused on convincing and teaching merchants how to accept Dash. We have 12 sales agents, three executive assistants, and three Q&A agents, all of them working aligned in order to onboard the most merchants we can. But not only the number is important. The key to success is ensure that all merchants have the right information and they have everything made clear, this quality work ensures a long-term relationship. Besides, the Dash Help support center is key for creating confidence because they know they can call us anytime in order to solve any question/problem they may have.”
Finally, Echeverría notes that no other cryptocurrency comes close to Dash in terms of real use for purchases in Venezuela:
“Currently, Dash is the only cryptocurrency that is being promoted as a payment method, and the only one which has over 1,500 merchants, including international and local franchises. Bitcoin is the number one in terms of knowledge, but people see it like a financial investment. Dash is known as a payment method and it is the number one cryptocurrency in terms of adoption and real usage.”
