Cryptocurrency exchange giant Coinbase recently launched its Visa debit card which allows customers in the U.K and EU to spend their crypto assets directly from their Coinbase accounts when swiping.
The crypto exchange which is based in San Francisco announced the news on Wednesday via blog post, stating that with the “Coinbase Card” customers are now able to spend their bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and other cryptocurrencies “as effortlessly as the money in their bank.”
The exchange also stated that it will “instantly” convert cryptocurrency assets to fiat currency, for example, the British pound, when customers swipe using the debit card to complete a transaction.
Furthermore, the card also supports all crypto assets available on the Coinbase platform. Customers can use them to pay for everyday purchases, everything from meals, tickets and more as per the announcement.
In comparison to similar products, customers had to pre-load specific amounts of crypto assets onto their cards in order to transact, stated Coinbase.
In addition to the debit card, Coinbase also launched an app for the card for both Android and iOS platforms. This allows users to pre-select which crypto wallet they will use when swiping. The application also features “instant” receipts, spending categories and transaction summaries.
Coinbase stated that the first 1000 customers to sign up won’t have to pay the card issuance fee of £4.95 ($6.48).
A U.K payments processor PaySafe is the issuer of cards according to a spokesperson from Coinbase,
As reported by Coinbeat, a similar development took place last month when banking startup 2gether stated that it was launching a prepaid Visa debit card which allows customers to spend crypto assets. With 2gether’s card, customers can pay for with euros or any of the following cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, XRP, bitcoin cash (BCH), EOS, Stellar (XLM) and litecoin (LTC).
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