Coinbase Card will allow UK in-store payments using Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin 🚨 This article is 5 years old...
Coinbase Card will allow UK in-store payments using Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin
2 min read
Updated: Mar. 24, 2020 at 6:55 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Coinbase, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange and one of the largest in the world, announced the launch of Coinbase Card. The Visa debit card will enable Coinbase’s customers in the UK to “spend crypto as effortlessly as the money in their bank.”
Visa and Coinbase Bring Cryptocurrency Payments to the Masses
Digital coins being used as a means of payment has long been the dream of the entire crypto community. With many skeptics challenging the day-to-day operability of various coins, some have even given up on the idea of spending and using cryptocurrencies in the real world.
However, Coinbase, a major US-based cryptocurrency exchange, challenged this and launched its eponymous Coinbase Card. The exchange teamed up with global payments processor Visa to launch the card which will allow users to “spend crypto as effortlessly as the money in their bank.”
Coinbase announced the news in a Medium post on Apr. 10, saying that the card will only be available to customers in the UK.
Coinbase’s Cryptocurrency Debit Card Brings Instant Crypto to Fiat Conversion
According to the company’s release, the Coinbase Card is powered by cryptocurrency balances in customers’ Coinbase accounts. The exchange’s customers will have the ability to pay in-store and online using Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and other coins.
The card can be used to make payments through contactless, chip and PIN, and offers the ability to withdraw cash directly from ATMs. The company says the card can be used with any merchant on the Visa network as coins will instantly be converted into fiat currency such as GBP.
Users will be able to control which of their crypto wallets to use via the Coinbase Card app, which will be made available on both iOS and Android. The app will reportedly offer instant receipts, transaction summaries, spending categories, and more.
The Coinbase Card will be issued by Paysafe Financial Services Limited, the company said, which is an electronic money and payment instruments issuer authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
While the debit card will have a £4.95 to $6.50 issuance fee, Coinbase will waive the charge for the first 1,000 to join the watchlist. The news about the card was met with mixed reviews, as some users were worried about the possibility of high fees that would make the card virtually useless. It’s still unknown whether the card will be a hit in the crypto community.
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Bitcoin
$63,913.44
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Litecoin
$83.2833
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world.
Ethereum
$3,126.56
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Coinbase
Coinbase is a digital currency exchange and wallet service that allows individuals to buy, sell, and store digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.