- Coinbase Card allows customers to spend cryptocurrency anywhere Visa cards are accepted.
- PayPal Launched a similar service earlier this month
United States, Oct. 30, 2020 / AlexaBlockchain/ – Coinbase has announced to launch its Coinbase Card in the US. Currently, the card is only available in Europe.
Coinbase Card is a Visa debit card that allows customers to spend cryptocurrency anywhere Visa cards are accepted. Coinbase claims it’s “the easiest, quickest way to spend your crypto worldwide.” The card was launched in April 2019. It was initially available in the UK and steadily expanded to other European markets.
There are a number of Crypto debit cards around the world that allow users to spend cryptocurrency. PayPal launched a similar service earlier this month, enabling its customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal account. But many platforms require users to load funds onto the card in order to spend them. The Coinbase Card eliminates the middleman, instead pulling funds directly from your Coinbase account.
Other cards are limited to one or a few currencies; the Coinbase Card supports more than 30 cryptocurrencies for US customers, according to the company (and converts everything to US dollars before completing purchases and ATM withdrawals).
“Eligible customers can apply via the Coinbase app or on the web. The first customers will be approved this winter. Once customers are approved, they can spend with a virtual card right away and will receive a physical card in the mail within two weeks,” Coinbase said.
Whenever a cardholder makes a payment, Coinbase Card instantly converts cryptocurrencies into other fiat currencies and automatically deducts all expenses and commissions, which is yet to be disclosed.
To celebrate the launch, Coinbase rolled out its Visa card to users in the US with competitive cashback rates. The exchange is offering up to four percent cashback from purchases with the card. Customers can opt to earn four percent back in Stellar Lumens (XLM) or one percent back in Bitcoin (BTC).
Coinbase debit card works just the same as any other bank card, except it is not linked to a mobile banking app, but a crypto wallet.
