Coinbase VISA Debit Card – Cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service Coinbase has launched its Visa debit card in six European countries.
Cardholders in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands will be able to use the cards, which sync directly to their Coinbase accounts. The card comes as both a mobile app for iOS or Android, and as a physical card that can be used to withdraw fiat currencies from automatic teller machines (ATM).
This new card purportedly allow users to spend cryptocurrencies they hold at any merchant that accepts Visa cards. Users can decide which cryptocurrency they wish to use to make a payment in the app, while Coinbase subsequently converts the crypto to cash. Of-course there are charges for this service.
Coinbase U.K. CEO Zeeshan Feroz said, “You can buy groceries on bitcoin (BTC) and then coffee on litecoin (LTC) right after.”
The card was first launched for users in the United Kingdom in April 2019 and was issued by Paysafe Financial Services Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority as a certified issuer of electronic money and payment instruments.
Coinbase Vice President of Business, Data and International Emilie Choi said that despite its recent additions, it is not currently investing in the decentralized exchange sector even after the acquisition of decentralized peer-to-peer trading platform Paradex last year. Choi said:
“We have to make sure that if we offer a dex that we’re doing it in a way that is safe and secure and compliant. I think that there’s not a lot of clarity right now on how that would work. We think this space is interesting but we’re not actively investing in it right at this moment.”