To introduce crypto debit cards in more than 40 nations, Visa announced on Friday “a long-term worldwide partnership” with West Realm Shires Services Inc. and FTX Trading Ltd. The two businesses, FTX US and FTX.com, respectively, are the owners of cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to the statement, “as part of the agreement, FTX will start by providing FTX-branded Visa debit cards to FTX clients globally — with a focus on nations in Latin America, Europe, and Asia in the initial phases of the rollout.”
The user’s FTX accounts are directly connected to the debit cards. The exchange stated that these cards, which are currently offered in the United States, “are now being rolled out globally in over 40 additional countries, including many across Latin America,” adding:
Before the end of the year, the second phase of the rollout for the Visa debit cards bearing the FTX brand is anticipated across Europe, with other regional releases scheduled for 2023.
The debit cards enable users to make purchases at 80 million merchant locations globally that accept Visa using the cryptocurrency balance in their FTX wallets. According to the cryptocurrency company, there are no processing or administrative costs for using FTX Visa debit cards.
Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, said, “at Visa, we think that digital currencies will significantly impact the future of financial services and the flow of money.”
“Through our cooperation with Visa, we are continuing to witness the further extension of the connectivity between digital assets and the global financial ecosystem,” said Adam Jacobs, FTX’s global head of payments.
According to Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu on Friday, “Even though values have decreased, there is still consistent interest in crypto. As a company, we don’t have a view on what the value of cryptocurrencies should be, or whether they’re a good thing over the long term – as long as people have items they want to buy, we want to facilitate that.”
