Spending crypto in Australia will soon get a lot easier. Crypto holders will be able to directly pay using Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), and EXP in physical stores with Visa’s approval of a local payment startup allowing it to issue debit cards.
Payments giant Visa approved Australian startup CryptoSpend allowing the latter to issue physical debit to its users, according to Coindesk. With the debit card, crypto users can now spend their digital currencies in existing brick-and-mortar point-of-sales such as retail stores and hospitality venues.
According to the company’s website, users can load the debit card with Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and XRP. The CryptoSpend app also allows users to make direct purchases using crypto, which is unlike some existing services that convert crypto to fiat upon payment.
CryptoSpend’s debit card will offer Australians another “flexible way” to spend their digital currencies on everyday items, according to the company’s co-founder Andrew Grech. “Anything from a cinema ticket to your new pair of headphones,” Grech told Coindesk in an email.
Under the arrangement, custodianship of the crypto holdings has been assigned to the New York-licensed custodian BitGo. The card will be issued by Novatti and expected to arrive in Australia by September.
Meanwhile, users of the CryptoSpend app can continue using their accounts to pay bills in crypto including Bitcoin and Ether. The app comes with a wallet to hold users’ digital currencies.
CryptoSpend co-founder and COO Richard Voice revealed that the app has attracted users from all walks of life. “We have customers that range from 18-year-old students to 70-year-old grandmothers,” he said. “[This] further emphasizes the growing appetite for people of all ages to use crypto as an everyday currency.”
Comment 7