- The card comes with an annual fee of £149.7 and will be issued by Evolve Bank & Trust.
- Reportedly, the companies aim to roll out the card to the general public in early 2021.
- This project is reportedly part of Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program.
Visa Inc., a leading financial services company, has teamed up with BlockFi, a New York-based crypto startup, to launch a credit card that rewards users with bitcoin (BTC) instead of airline cash or cash. A report unveiled this news on December 1, noting that users of the new card will get 1.5% of all their purchases back in BTC. On top of this, the card will offer the users £187 if they spend more than £2,246 within the first three months of getting the card.
According to the report, the Bitcoin Rewards credit card has an annual fee of £149.7. Allegedly, Evolve Bank & Trust will be responsible for the card’s issuance
Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis?
Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.
Commenting on the upcoming launch of the card, Zac Prince, BlockFi’s founder and CEO said,
“We’re excited to add credit cards to our suite of products and expand Bitcoin’s accessibility to a broader set of consumers.”
The companies hope to roll out the card to the general public in early 2021. However, BlockFi account holders will be able to sign up before the official launch. Reportedly, BlockFi’s collaboration with Visa is part of the financial services giant’s Fintech Fast Track program. This initiative seeks to expedite the process of integrating with Visa, allowing nimble startups to leverage the reach, capabilities, and security of VisaNet, the company’s global payment network. In so doing, Visa aims to help FinTech startups become scalable quickly.
Visa’s evolving stance on crypto
This news comes as Visa continues underpinning the mainstream adoption of BTC. However, the firm has not always been pro-crypto. In 2018, Visa got into a public fight with Coinbase exchange over issues related to the exchange’s users making crypto purchases with its cards. Nonetheless, both firms ironed out the issues and entered into a deal that saw them launch the Coinbase card, which allows users to spend crypto through the visa-backed debit card.
Since then, the company has displayed great interest in the crypto sector. Earlier this year, the company joined hands with Fold, a crypto startup to offer a debit card that earns crypto-based rewards. At the time, Fold’s CEO, Will Reeves said that the card would be a game-changer as it would let its users accumulate BTC in a simple and smart way as compared to creating a virtual wallet on a crypto asset. Through this project, Visa helped boost BTC’s adoption, seeing as the card is usable on a plethora of renowned retailers, including Amazon and Starbucks.
