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Note that the process of putting in cryptocurrencies is better, but for many users, the first purchase still seems more complicated than it should be. KYC hurdles, hidden fees, custody transfers and settlement delays continue to turn what should be a simple transaction into a point of abandonment.
WeChange tries to simplify this process by building a non-custodial gateway around local bank transfer networks, including SEPA, ACH, Faster Payments, BEX and SPEI.
He noted that the company covers more than 190 countries and fees start at 2.5%, and believes that the purchase of digital coins should be more like a bank transfer rather than entering a complex financial product.
In this interview, Wei Cheng discusses why custodial infrastructure is important, why local payments remain essential for global reach, and where the next cryptocurrency payment architecture is headed.
- What problem were you trying to solve that current front doors didn’t quite solve?
The basic frustration has always been the same: you want to buy cryptocurrency, you go through an income portal, and somewhere between the KYC, the fees, the custody and the three-day wait, you have already lost the user. Existing solutions were too expensive, too slow, or kept your assets without really asking for permission. We want to build something closer to a wire transfer than a financial product: direct, predictable and custody-free from day one. The problem wasn’t that people didn’t want cryptocurrency. The problem is that the entry points make it more difficult than it needs to be.
- Why is custody infrastructure so important to the future of crypto income in your opinion?
It shows that conservation means trust, and trust is a burden when you scale the world. The moment you hold someone’s assets, you are exposed to regulatory risk, operational risk, and a relationship that must be maintained forever. More importantly, it goes against Bitcoin’s core value: ownership. If a person comes to this field for the first time, the first thing he must experience is that the origins are really his own. Non-custodial infrastructure is not only a technical decision, it is also a philosophical decision. It’s the only model that really scales.
- WeChange supports SEPA, ACH, Faster Payments, PEX and SPEI. Why are local bank transfers a crucial part of simplifying access to cryptocurrencies around the world?
Show that the alternative is to ask people to use infrastructure they don’t trust, to convert currencies they don’t understand, and fees they don’t expect. Brazilian user thinks real and uses pix. The Mexican user manages his funds via SPEI. When you force everyone into the banking network or just one route, you unnecessarily increase the barriers. The local lines mean that the user begins his journey in a pre-familiar context – his own bank, his own currency, and his transfer habits. This sense of familiarity dramatically reduces abandonment and builds trust with the first transaction, which is the hardest step to successfully complete.
- Working in more than 190 countries is a great ambition. What have been the biggest challenges in building a truly global gateway, and how to achieve consistency in different markets?
It faces the biggest challenge because of the enormous complexity. Compliance standards are different in each jurisdiction – there are different thresholds, different KYC requirements, and different definitions of what constitutes a financial service. The liquidity challenge has emerged: the accuracy of prices and the reliability of the liquidation must be ensured in dozens of courses at once. Consistency comes from having a strong layer of abstraction – the user experience should be the same whether you’re in Warsaw or Lagos, even if the underlying infrastructure is completely different. We invest a lot in that layer, and being honest about the markets where we are always improving.
- Transparency is back as a major theme in cryptocurrencies. How does WeChange ensure that users understand the fees, backup methods, and process mechanics before committing?
We show everything before confirmation – no surprises after the process. Pay what you see! Fees, exchange rates, expected access time, and a clear statement that the assets go directly to the wallet controlled by the user. We don’t hide the unpreserved form in the terms document – we make it a key feature because it’s important. Transparency is not only an ethical stance, it is a user retention strategy. Users who understand what they are doing keep coming back. Users who feel cheated don’t come back – and they tell others.
- With fees starting at 2.5%, how do you work to reduce costs and friction compared to traditional methods or card purchases?
Card purchases generally vary between 3.5% and 6% when factoring in network fees and currency conversion differences – often without a full breakdown of costs shown. Bank transactions are structurally cheaper to process, so we built the product around them. The 2.5% reflects our current situation – we are still building the volume, and the growing volume reduces the cost. As we strengthen the liquidity partners and improve the liquidation of the corridor, the downward trend becomes clear. The goal is not just to compete on fees, but to make the total cost—including time and complexity—actually lower than any other alternative.
- Can you explain the user experience from initiating a bank transfer to receiving the cryptocurrencies in the wallet?
The user enters the amount he wants to spend, chooses a local payment method, and we explain exactly what will arrive in his wallet and when. He confirms, then initiates the transfer from his bank – something he already knows how to do – and we discover the payment on our end. After confirmation, the cryptocurrencies are sent directly to the wallet address you provided. There is no intermediate storage, and no additional holding period after liquidation. Depending on the type of channel, the order can be completed in less than an hour via express network or in a normal banking day for other channels. The only task of the user is to send a bank transfer. Everything else is our responsibility.
- How do you see the future of the global cryptocurrency payment architecture, and what is WeChange’s role in it – especially with card support expected for Q2 2026?
I believe we are headed into a world where the concept of gatekeeping disappears – where the purchase and use of cryptocurrencies becomes as integrated as the use of a debit card is today. The infrastructure layer becomes invisible. Card support in Q2 2026 is part of that: it means meeting users through the channels they feel comfortable with, not just the ones that are most efficient for us. In the long term, WeChange is positioned as the connecting layer – the layer that makes it irrelevant whether you started with a bank account in São Paulo or a card in Berlin. The destination itself. Our mission is to make every path equally simple.
