A Fiat-to-Crypto On-Ramp Service and Visa

t is hard to imagine the modern world without cryptocurrencies. Interestingly, more than 200 Simplex partner companies have the opportunity to offer crypto debit cards to their customers, potentially enabling greater adoption of cryptocurrencies for retail transactions.  It is worth noting that, the development is the result of a recent partnership between Simplex and Visa announced on December 28. Interestingly, Simplex a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp service is now a principal member of Visa in Europe. The partnership will make it easier for the company to boost business-to-business activities. 

People should take into consideration that, thanks to the principal partnership, Simplex is able to offer this service, basically giving any Simplex partner the ability to offer a crypto or fiat Visa card.  This is not the end of the story. Thanks to the partnership, the company will be able to offer greater access to digital currencies. As a reminder, in October Simplex added a Tether-to-euro cashout feature to its platform.

Crypto debit cards and Visa

Interestingly, crypto debit cards remain an important component of enabling “fiat-like convenience” for spending cryptocurrencies either online or in physical store locations. In fact, the increased utilization of cryptocurrencies for microtransactions remains one of the benchmarks for gauging crypto adoption. 

This year, several crypto exchanges began releasing debit cards that let users spend crypto. For example, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange started shipping its physical Binance Visa cards in the European Economic Area (EEA). This is not the end of the story as Binance also added Ether support to its crypto debit card. 

Interestingly, the cryptocurrency exchange officially announced its crypto debit card in the EEA  region in July 2020. In the beginning, it offered virtual Binance Visa cards. 

People should take into account that, the physical Binance Visa card has a daily limit of 8,700 euros ($10,600), while daily ATM withdrawals amount to 290 euros ($350). As a reminder, the cards feature up to 8% cashback and zero fees until 2021. 

Moreover, crypto lender BlockFi announced its own card program.

It is worth noting that, Simplex joins Coinbase in the ranks of crypto-native companies obtaining principal membership status. As a reminder, Coinbase achieved the same result in February. However, it has yet to make direct use of the ability as its cards remain issued by third-party providers.