Coinbase Launches Its Visa Debit Card to Ease Up Crypto Spending for U.K and U.S. Customers

12. Apr 2019 Posted by Akolkar B on News

On Thursday, April 11, popular crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of its visa debit card which allows customers to spend their cryptocurrencies for daily purchases directly through their Coinbase accounts.

This makes Coinbase the first crypto exchange to launch a debit card of its own. The official announcement reads: “This is the first debit card to link directly with a major cryptocurrency exchange in the UK and EU, allowing users to spend their crypto balances direct from their Coinbase account”.

The Coinbase Card will allow its U.K.-based customers to make in-store and online purchases directly using a debit card. Moreover, it allows customers to spend any digital currency from its account like the Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and much more.

Customers can use their Coinbase card at several locations across the globe and make payment through Chip and PIN, contactless, and even make cash withdrawals from ATMs. Using Coinbase Card will instantly do a crypto-to-fiat conversion in either USD of GBP in order to complete a purchase.

In addition to the Coinbase Card, the company has also launched along with a Coinbase Card App to help customers manage their spendings. The app allows customers to select the type of crypto wallet they will use to make their spendings. Furthermore, the app “offers instant receipts, transaction summaries, spending categories, and more”. The Coinbase Card app is available on both - iOS and Android mobile platforms.

Similar to its launch in U.K. Coinbase has launched its visa debit card called as The Shift Card that allows spending Bitcoins on any platform that accepts Visa.

The Shift Card will directly debit Bitcoin from your Coinbase account which is equivalent to the spending you have done. Some of the features related to the costs with The Shift Card include:

  • There is an initial issuance fee of $20
  • There are no transaction fees on domestic transactions for a limited time
  • There are no fees associated with the exchange of bitcoin to USD
  • Other fees may apply to certain transactions (outlined in the Shift Payments FAQ)

The Shift Card is available currently in a few selected states in the U.S. as Coinbase is working with other jurisdictions for further expansion.