In a partnership with fintech firm BlockCard, Bitcoin P2P marketplace Paxful announces to offer a crypto-powered debit card for customers in the United States.
According to Paxful’s blog, the card will be first launched in the United States, and then the service will be expanded to other counties in the future. However, the crypto-based Visa card will be limited to US users, but it is compatible with any international ATM, and one can withdraw money from any ATM machine worldwide. At the time of purchases, cryptocurrencies would convert into fiat currency, USD.
As many people do not have access to proper banking services and facilities, the latest initiative of the peer-to-peer assets marketplace is to empower the unbanked people with crypto solutions. In 2017, FDIC conducted a study whose results showed 25% of the US households were under-banked and unbanked. According to the data published by the World Bank, there are a total of 1.7 billion who are unbanked or under-banked in the world.
Functional at over 45 Merchants Worldwide
As the crypto-based debit card is also powered by BlockCard, customers can utilize the virtual version of the card besides the availability of a physical Visa debit card. To make use of services and features of Paxful’s crypto debit card, one must have at least $10 in balance and it can be used at “over 45 million merchants and ATMs” across the globe.
Paxful CEO Ray Youssef stated access “to reliable and affordable financial products is indispensable.” According to Youssef, Paxful has always provided potential solutions for those who are “looking to invest in education, start a business, or simply manage the financial demands of everyday life.”
“Paxful is a best in class peer to peer bitcoin marketplace, so we’re pumped up about being able to provide their customers access to the BlockCard platform,” said Daniel Gouldman, co-founder and CEO of BlockCard’s operator Ternio.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase recently announced to launch a crypto-powered Visa by 2021 for the US customers. In the European countries, the card service has been active successfully since April 2019.