Simplex partners with Visa to issue crypto debit cards

Over 200 Simplex partner companies can now offer crypto debit cards to their customers, potentially enabling greater adoption of cryptocurrencies for retail transactions.

The development is the result of a recent partnership between Simplex and Visa announced Monday. Simplex, a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp service is now a principal member of Visa in Europe.

A Simplex spokesperson explained to Cointelegraph that the partnership is mainly a boost for the company’s business-to-business activities. “The principal membership is what enables us to roll this out to our partner network, basically giving any Simplex partner the ability to offer a crypto or fiat Visa card.”

For Simplex founder and CEO Nimrod Lehavi, the Visa partnership is an important step in the company’s plans of enabling greater access to digital currencies. Back in October, Simplex added a Tether-to-euro cashout feature to its platform.

Crypto debit cards remain an important component of enabling “fiat-like convenience” for spending cryptocurrencies either online or in physical store locations. Indeed, the increased utilization of digital currencies for microtransactions remains one of the benchmarks for gauging crypto adoption.

In 2020, a number of crypto companies began releasing debit cards that let users spend crypto. Binance Card is the latest entry, shipping to European customers in December. Earlier in the same month, crypto lender BlockFi announced its own card program. 

Simplex joins Coinbase in the ranks of crypto-native companies obtaining principal membership status. The exchange had previously achieved the same milestone in February, though it has yet to make direct use of the ability as its cards remain issued by third-party providers.