Tag: Credit Cards

Web2 and Web3 tools are merging as crypto-backed debit cards

by Blockchain News

As the use of crypto-backed debit cards becomes more widespread, there is an ongoing consolidation of Web2 and Web3 solutions.

Bit2Me, the most important cryptocurrency exchange in Spain, made a statement on February 10 about the launch of its new cashback debit card, which was developed in collaboration with Mastercard.

The original Bit2Me card allows its users to make transactions via the Mastercard network, which is used by millions of merchants all over the globe. This new upgrade gives consumers the opportunity to earn up to 9% bitcoin cashback on all transactions, regardless of whether they were done in-store or online.

At the click of a mouse, “[The] idea is that every user from anywhere in the globe has simple access to the boundless universe of Web3 financial services,”

Eight cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Polkadot (DOT), as well as the stablecoin Tether, are supported via the card and wallet (USDT).

It has been claimed that the corporation intends to support other currencies before the end of the year. At this time, users may access Bit2Me from 69 different countries all around the globe. Users who reside in the European Economic Area (EEA), on the other hand, are only permitted to submit an application for the virtual form of the card.

After making the first statement in 2021 that it would be providing services all over the world, Bit2Me has been planning to expand its service offerings for some time now. When the local Spanish trading platform 2gether went down in July, the exchange was quick to step in and provide assistance to the 100,000 cryptocurrency investors who had been prevented from using its platform. This was done after the investors were barred from using the now-defunct site.

During this time, Mastercard has also been quite active in the Web3 arena, delivering new services and possibilities to its customers and users. Over the course of the previous year, it has selected at least seven blockchain and cryptocurrency firms to participate in its fintech accelerator program.

Additionally, the firm collaborated with Polygon to develop a Web3 musician accelerator program. This program will concentrate on the convergence of the music industry and new technology.

Mastercard made the announcement on January 31 that they would be working with Binance to offer their second prepaid cryptocurrency card in Latin American countries.

Source

Tagged : / / / / / / / /

Amex CEO hints at exploring ways to allow credit card holders to redeem points for crypto

by Cointelegraph

American Express credit card holders may one day be able to redeem points for cryptocurrencies, but the company has no immediate plans to issue a crypto-linked credit card.

In a Tuesday interview with Yahoo! Finance, Amex chief executive officer Stephen Squeri said credit card holders were “probably not gonna see a Amex crypto-linked card anytime soon” but the company was already involved in using cards for stablecoins, and monitored for central bank digital currency developments from the U.S. government. The CEO said he considered major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as “more of an asset class” like gold, but did not think they would facilitate payments in the same way as credit cards given their price volatility.

“You don’t have the service with [crypto], you don’t have the dispute rights with it, you’re not getting rewards, and you’re not extending credit,” said Squeri. “All of those values that occur within a credit card do not lend themselves to cryptocurrency.”

He added:

“We’re exploring other ways, potentially, to redeem your membership rewards points, but I don’t think you’re going to see an American Express card linked to cryptocurrency anytime soon.”

Visa and Mastercard seem to be ahead of Amex when it comes to partnering with firms for crypto benefits from card holders’ purchases. In January 2021, crypto exchange Gemini released its own credit card allowing users to earn up to 3% back in BTC. In 2020, BlockFi announced it had partnered with Visa to let cardholders receive 1.5% of their purchases back in BTC.

Related: Crypto credit cards could be the missing link to mass adoption

The benefits aren’t limited to card holders based in the United States — as is sometimes the case for travel and hotel rewards. In December, Mastercard announced it would be

Source

Tagged : / / / / /

Tribal Credit raises $40M in ‘hybrid’ debt round funded by dollars and stablecoins

by Cointelegraph

Crypto-focused enterprise payment platform Tribal Credit has concluded a $40 million debt offering that was funded through fiat and stablecoins — giving the company additional capital to expand its business services in Latin America. 

The so-called hybrid debt round was financed by Partners for Growth, a California-based investment firm, and Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), which is a non-profit organization supporting the growth of the Stellar blockchain. Tribal said it will use the capital to fund receivables from its customer base throughout Latin America, particularly Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru.

Tribal COO Duane Good explained to Cointelegraph that funding receivables from its customer base means that “Tribal can use the debt facility to help customers” in the aforementioned countries. In other words, “this new debt facility will be used to support our customer’s spending on the Tribal platform.”

When asked about the mechanics of the hybrid debt raise, Good explained that “a portion of the debt facility was established with SDF and funded through USDC.” A traditional debt facility, by contrast, “is an agreement with insittutiional lenders that enables a financial services firm to draw on the facility to support the underlying credit needs of their portfiolio.”

Launched in 2016, Tribal Credit provides credit cards and other forms of funding to startups in emerging markets. The company also employs a cross-border payment system supported by cryptocurrency exchange Bitso that allows businesses to convert local currency to Stellar’s USDC stablecoin. Integration with Stellar blockchain began in April 2021 after Tribal received $3 million from the Stellar Development Foundation.

Related: Crypto payments solutions firm Ramp raises $53 million to increase adoption of DApps

Tribal and others have identified small businesses as a major source of growth for crypto payments and remittances, especially in emerging markets where access to traditional financial services is often limited. Data from the World Bank shows that small- and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets create roughly seven out of 10 jobs, making their access to financing more important.