Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX is launching a Visa debit card that will allow users to spend their digital currency balances, with customers able to join a waiting list, according to a CoinDesk report Friday (Jan. 21).
The offer for the fee-free FTX Visa debit card, however, doesn’t extend to the U.S., the report says. Crypto balances will be automatically exchanged at the point of sale, meaning users can spend their digital currency just about anywhere that Visa is accepted.
An FTX spokesperson did not immediately comment on why the card won’t be available in the U.S., the report said, adding that FTX will notify users when the FTX Visa debit card becomes available in their regions.
“Crypto payments in C2B [consumer-to-business] merchant acceptance are still nascent today,” according to a recent white paper from payments firm Nuvei cited in the CoinDesk report. “Crypto merchant payments today represent an estimated annual volume of $6 billion, a tiny fraction of the $10 trillion C2B global eCommerce market.”
Related: Bitcoin’s Slide Casts Doubt on Its Usefulness for Payments
Bitcoin started December at $56,477 and ended 2021 at $47,686. It dropped below $38,000 Friday morning (Jan. 21), down 44% from its Nov. 10 all-time high of $68,789.
Also read: FinTech Save Launches Visa Investment Card
Meanwhile, savings platform Save on Friday (Jan. 21) debuted a card with Visa that it calls the first high-yield credit card that offers market returns instead of points or cash back.
The new Save card, which is scheduled for release in February, is expected to have the highest return potential of any premium card, with an average return of 6% each year on all purchases with no caps, category restrictions or minimums.
Save card users will get access to benefits that include increased investments and yield potential for purchases done with Save-preferred brands including Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon and Peloton.
Customers will keep all their investment returns, minus the 7.9% Save management fee.
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