SoFi Technologies announced it will become the first US bank to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network and Universal Money Address (UMA). The bank partnered with Lightspark to launch its new payment service.

The service will start later in 2025, beginning with Mexico, according to the announcement on Tuesday. It targets the global remittance market, which reached $740.5 billion in 2024.

SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said on X, "For many SoFi members who regularly send money to loved ones internationally, the ability to quickly transfer money at low cost isn’t just a convenience, it’s a meaningful improvement to their everyday financial lives."

The new Bitcoin UMA service allows users to convert US dollars into Bitcoin in real time. The funds will then move across borders through the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Recipients will receive the payment directly in their local bank accounts, in their national currency. Lightspark’s UMA provides users with an address similar to an email for sending and receiving money. This makes transfers faster while keeping them simple to use. Lightspark was founded in 2022 by David Marcus, who previously served as president of PayPal.

SoFi said transaction costs will be below the current national average. The app will display exchange rates and fees before users confirm payments. The service will run 24/7 for SoFi’s 11.7 million members.

Coinbase adopted Bitcoin Lightning in April 2024, using Lightspark’s infrastructure, and within 12 months 15% of its Bitcoin transactions were processed through Lightning. The company reported these figures in April 2025, showing that adoption of Bitcoin Lightning increased quickly.

In June 2024, Brazilian neobank Nubank announced a partnership with Lightspark to provide Bitcoin Lightning payments to its 100 million customers in Latin America. However, Nubank has not confirmed when the Bitcoin payments will be fully available. This delay has kept SoFi in position to become the first bank to implement Bitcoin Lightning and UMA for international money transfers.

Sofi Becomes First US Bank to Integrate Bitcoin Lightning and UMA

SoFi Technologies announced it will become the first U.S. bank to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network and Universal Money Address (UMA) by partnering with Lightspark. The new service, slated to launch in Mexico later in 2025, will allow U.S. customers to convert dollars to Bitcoin in real‑time, transfer funds across borders via Lightning, and deliver payments directly to local bank accounts in the recipient’s currency. The service targets the $740.5 billion global remittance market and promises transaction costs below the national average. The article also notes Coinbase’s earlier adoption of Lightning and Nubank’s pending rollout.