financemagnates.com
Nuvei payment technology firm through its subsidiary called Simplex crypto fintech firm is rolling out crypto-friendly debit cards. On December 13, Nuvie announced that it had partnered with Visa Inc to launch crypto-friendly debit cards to its partners across the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom. Simplex is a principal member of the Visa network and has an electronic money institutions (EMI) license in the European Union. Therefore, the crypto fintech firm has permission to release Visa cards and to provide its partner firms with an easy way to spend crypto coins anywhere Visa is accepted.
The rollout of the new cards aims to simplify the fiat-to-crypto process, which in turn would help consumers to use and spend the funds from their crypto earnings.
Philip Fayer, Nuvei’s Chair and CEO, talked about the development and said that: “The branded Visa debit card is a huge asset to our partners and their users, enabling the immediate and seamless spending of crypto earnings.” Fayer also stressed the role that Visa plays towards expanding the ecosystem by making attempts to close the gap between the traditional finance sector and the cryptocurrency industry.
Meanwhile, Nikola Plecas, Director of Crypto Solutions at Visa Europe, commented about the announcement and stated: “Awareness of cryptocurrencies has increased significantly amongst consumers across Europe, resulting in increased adoption as more people look to access crypto. We are excited to be part of this, and by deepening our relationship with Nuvei further, we are delighted to provide consumers with a simple and secure way to spend their crypto.”
The collaboration between Nuvei and Visa aims to optimize cryptocurrency and digital assets payments by providing users with a simple mechanism to close the fiat-to-crypto gap, a process that in the past depended on the cooperation of the traditional financial system.
Nuvei bought Simplex for $250 million in cash last May in a deal that would give Nuvie future banking capabilities. Nuvei delivered the first path of the cards in September. That was when Simplex partnered with the COTI enterprise-grade crypto fintech platform as the latter launched Visa debit cards and crypto-friendly bank accounts.
Next-Gen Crypto Debit/ Credit Cards
The announcement by Nuvei collaborating with Visa comes at a time when rollouts of crypto debit and credit cards are on the rise especially in developed countries. That demonstrated the increasing use of cryptocurrencies as a store of value and a medium of exchange. Nowadays, many customers can use crypto assets to pay for goods and services as they would use the Dollar, Euro and other fiat currencies. Over the years, several online and offline merchants have included cryptos, especially Bitcoin, among the payment options they accept. Consumers can shop in thousands of stores across the world using crypto funded debit and credit cards. They can also go to remote places where nobody has ever heard of Bitcoin and still spend crypto so long as they accept one of the major credit cards like Mastercard or Visa. Several service providers in the space, including major crypto exchanges like Binance Coinbase, are issuing their own crypto debit cards. They are fully regulated in the jurisdictions where they are registered as financial service providers. They have formal partnerships with major global payment processes like Visa and Mastercard to facilitate such payment arrangements.