Coinbase, the largest American cryptocurrency exchange, has just launched the Coinbase Card, a Visa debit card for its UK customers. Users will be able to make purchase online and in-store via the card.
The information comes from a blog post from Coinbase on April 10th, 2019. The Coinbase Card is actually a normal Visa debit card that users power through their crypto balances accounts in Coinbase. The card essentially allows all users to make purchases worldwide. What Coinbase does is convert the cryptocurrency funds into fiat currency, so that customers can complete their orders.
According to the official press release issued by Coinbase, customers will also be able to use their card “through contactless, Chip and PIN, as well as cash withdrawals from ATMs.”
In addition to this novelty, the exchange has launched the Coinbase Card app, so that users can better manage their purchases and actually select which of their crypto wallets they will use to fund their Coinbase Card spending. The card is available for both Android and iOS users. Moreover, the app will display the transaction history details such as receipts, spending categories and other details for the convenience of the users.
What this means is that users can now buy their day-to-day items and food with all cryptocurrencies that Coinbase supports. As the exchange puts it: …” pay for a meal with bitcoin, or use ethereum to fund their train ticket home”.
For the launch of the Coinbase Card, the exchange is waiving the issuance fee of £4.95 for the very first 1,000 customers who will join the waiting list.
The exchange also announced that while the Card is currently available for UK customers only, it plans to expand the offering in other EU countries as well.