On Thursday (March 26), crypto exchange Binance introduced its own crypto-backed debit card.
As you might already know, last April, Coinbase announced “Coinbase Card”, a crypto-backed debit card.
Well, now, Binance seems to have decided that there is sufficiently high interest from its users to make it worthwhile to launch its own crypto-backed Visa debit card that will be called “Binance Card”.
What is the motivation for such a debit card?
Binance says that it is trying to make it easier to pay for goods/services with crypto (you already own) and thereby “take crypto adoption one step further.”
Using a crypto-backed debit card that is tied to your Binance.com account means that you don’t need to go through the inconvenient, slow, and potentially expensive process of selling your crypto and then waiting for the proceeds from the sale to reach your bank account.
Binance Card essentially behaves like a regular prepaid debit card except that it is linked to your Binance.com account rather than a bank account.
It can be topped up with Bitcoin (BTC) or Binance Coin (BNB) that you hold in your Binance.com account via the Binance Card mobile app. This balance will then be used for any crypto payments made through the card.
Binance Card will be available as a “virtual card” in Malaysia starting in April, and soon it will also be available as a physical card. As for other countries, Vietnam will be the next country in which Binance Card will be launched, and the rest of the world will follow thereafter.
If you are interested in being notified when this card becomes available in your country, you should register your interest by giving Binance your email address at the Binance Card website.
The cost of the card is $15 (this is a one-time fee).
To use/control the card, you will need to use the Binance Card app; this will allow you to “manage your funds, card security, and spending with only a few taps.”
Over on Twitter, this is what Binance Co-Founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (aka “CZ”) had to say about today’s announcement:
Payments is an obvious use case for #crypto, yet adoption is slow. With only 0.1% of people having crypto, merchants have no incentive to accept it. And with few merchants accepting it, less users use it for payments. A chicken and egg problem. 1/2
— CZ Binance 🔶🔶🔶 (@cz_binance) March 26, 2020
Now by using the #Binance Card, merchants continue to receive fiat, and the users pay in any #crypto they choose, Problem solved.
Let there be #adoption.
— CZ Binance 🔶🔶🔶 (@cz_binance) March 26, 2020
Featured Image Courtesy of Binance
