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Coinbase becomes a Visa Principal Member to double down on debit card

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Cryptocurrency company Coinbase has been working with Paysafe to issue the Coinbase Card, a Visa debit card that works with your Coinbase account balance. The company is now a Visa Principal Member, which should help Coinbase rely less on Paysafe and control a bigger chunk of the card payment stack.

Coinbase says it is the only cryptocurrency company that has reached that level of certification. The company will offer the Coinbase Card in more markets in the future. The new status could open up more possibilities and features as well.

While Coinbase originally launched the Coinbase Card in the U.K., it is now available in 29 European countries. It works with any Visa-compatible payment terminal and ATM. Users can decide in the app which wallet they want to use for upcoming transactions. This way, you can spend money in 10 cryptocurrencies.

There are some conversion fees just like on Coinbase. In addition to those fees, there can be some additional fees if you withdraw a lot of money or make a purchase abroad. More details here.

Still, half of users who ordered a card are actively using it. The U.K., Italy, Spain and France are the main markets so far. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might not replace Visa and Mastercard just yet, so traditional debit cards represent a good alternative for now.

Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/19/coinbase-becomes-a-visa-principal-member-to-double-down-on-debit-card/

Coinbase launches debit card in the UK

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When you buy cryptocurrencies on Coinbase, many users simply don’t know what to do with them. Customers in the U.K. can now get a good old plastic card and spend cryptocurrencies in-store and on any online website.

This is a Visa card, so it should work with any merchant on the Visa network. The company is launching a separate mobile app called Coinbase Card to manage your cryptocurrency balances. For instance, you’ll be able to choose whether you want to use your Bitcoin, Ethereum or Litecoin balance with your card.

The app supports any cryptocurrency currently available on Coinbase. There’s no need to transfer crypto assets from the main Coinbase app to the Coinbase Card app — the card grabs cryptocurrencies directly from your Coinbase account.

The card supports contactless payments as well as ATM withdrawals. Transactions appear instantly in the app with the details of the exchange rate.

Now let’s talk about fees. Ordering a card costs £4.95 ($6.50) — the first 1,000 customers can get it for free. Each transaction costs 2.49 percent in fees — 1.49 percent in conversion fee and 1 percent in transaction fee. If you spend money in other European countries, it costs 2.69 percent in fee. Outside of Europe, it costs 5.49 percent per transaction — maybe you should consider using another card in this situation.

The chargeback processing fee is quite expensive as well, as it costs £20 ($26.20). There’s no maintenance fee, no additional cost for ATM withdrawals as long as you withdraw less than £200 per month.

Behind the scene, Paysafe is issuing the card. Apto Payments, the company formerly known as Shift Payments, is developing the Coinbase Card app. You may remember that Coinbase previously partnered with Shift Payments to issue a card in the U.S. But you can’t get a Coinbase card in the U.S. anymore.

Eventually, Coinbase plans to roll out the Coinbase Card in other European countries.

Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/10/coinbase-launches-debit-card-in-the-uk/