Visa has teamed up with blockchain services company Circle to make USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin transactions compatible with certain credit cards. “After Circle itself graduates from Visa’s Fast Track program, likely sometime next year, Visa will issue a credit card that lets businesses send and receive USDC payments directly from any business using the card,” said a Forbes article on Wednesday. Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, told Forbes: “This will be the first, corporate card that will allow businesses to be able to spend a balance of USDC.” Down the road, the collaboration will facilitate USDC transactions between cross-border …

Visa and BlockFi are teaming up to launch a new credit card that rewards users with Bitcoin (BTC), setting the stage for wider mainstream adoption of digital currency. BlockFi, a New York-based startup specializing in crypto-backed loans and savings accounts, announced the partnership on Tuesday. As Bloomberg reported, the new credit card will reward purchases with Bitcoin rather than airline miles or other cashback rewards. Cardholders will be eligible to receive 1.5% of their purchases back in BTC The card, which carries a $200 annual fee, will be issued by Evolve Bank & Trust. Although the credit card will be …

Fraudsters are taking advantage of the irreversible nature of crypto transactions, says MyChargeBack’s vice president of global operations, Michael Cohen. When Bitcoin (BTC) was first envisioned, one of its selling points was the fact that it was offering better protection to retailers than credit cards. In one of his earliest emails — from November 10, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto parried a complaint from an early adopter James A. Donald, who lamented the fact that Bitcoin transactions are not instantaneously final: “Instantant non-repudiability is not a feature, but it's still much faster than existing systems. Paper cheques can bounce up to a …

Mastercard is reaching out to cryptocurrency firms and encouraging them to apply to become partners as part of its newly-expanded cryptocurrency card program. On July 20, Mastercard said it was simplifying access to its Accelerate program for crypto card issuers, allowing applicants to be onboarded as partners “in a matter of weeks.” Now enhanced for crypto card applicants, the Accelerate program gives partners support with their market entry, continued growth and international expansion. New crypto partners will be assisted in integrating Mastercard’s technology and will be in a position to benefit from the firm’s cybersecurity expertise and market research. While …

Could Bitcoin be a credit card killer? Yes, according to one international furniture brand that has started accepting crypto as a payment method. Beliani is a European web-only retailer and manufacturer of modern affordable furniture and home accessories. It began allowing people to make purchases using Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP), Ether (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC) in the fourth quarter of 2019, the combined total of which represents 1%–2% of overall sales. For the company, digital assets represent a significant untapped opportunity, given how the crypto space has an “enormous” $250-billion market cap. Beliani’s main challenge has been raising customer …

Cryptocurrency debit card firm Crypto.com is now a member of the Open Payments Coalition, alongside more than 40 other finance and technology firms. According to a June 18 announcement, admittance to the Open Payments Coalition will add Crypto.com’s 2 million users to a payment network of over 100 million members. Open Payments Coalition members have access to the PayID system, which allows users to send payments in any currency between any platform involved in the coalition. Users can send these transactions with nothing more than a human-readable ID, which is valid across all member services. This story is currently in …

Banking giant JPMorgan Chase settled a 2018 lawsuit recently, with a $2.5 total payout — the result of unclear fees charged when using credit cards for crypto purchases. A May 26 court document detailed: "The Court notes that Defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., f/k/a Chase Bank USA, N.A. (“Chase” or “Defendant”) has agreed to provide a Cash Settlement Amount of an aggregate of $2,500,000 in cash." The lawsuit stemmed from lack of clarity In January 2018, JPMorgan Chase quietly altered the terms of use around its credit cards when dealing in crypto asset purchases, failing to alert customers until 10 …

Celsius Network is expanding its partnership with fiat-to-crypto payments provider, Simplex, by enabling its users to buy more crypto with credit and debit cards. Celsius, a major crypto lending startup, now allows its users to purchase gold-backed stablecoin Tether Gold (XAUT) using debit and credit cards. Announcing the news on May 28, Celsius said that the minimum purchase amount for XAUT is $50, while the annual interest rate accounts for 4%. Tether Gold was rolled out for depositing on Celsius app earlier in May Alongside Tether Gold, the new integration with Simplex also unlocks credit and debit card purchases for …

Leading cryptocurrency payments platform Crypto.com announced that it has received regulatory approval for its Visa card program in Canada, and will soon be rolling out MCO Visa cards in the country. MCO Visa cards are prepaid cards that can be topped up with cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), XRP, and Crypto.com’s native MCO token. The company said that citizens of Canada can now book their crypto cards through a three-minute customer onboarding process and ID verification on the Crypto.com App. This comes only a few days after the company announced that it was expanding its MCO Visa …

Visa has filed an application to create digital currency on a blockchain with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to the application published May 14 — but filed back in November 2018 — inventors Simon Hurry and Alexander Pierre with the Visa International Service Association in San Francisco have sought a patent for a digital currency recorded on a blockchain and controlled by a central entity computer. It cites Ethereum as a possible network. The application details two records, one of which would indicate “the digital currency for an amount associated with the denomination has been created for …

According to a BBC report on May 8, a group of international campaigners and campaign groups has written to ten major credit card companies calling for the immediate suspension of payments to pornographic websites. If successful, this campaign may result in a new wave of people flocking to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the search for alternative payment methods. All porn bad? Not according to PornHub The letter, whose signatories represent campaigners from every continent except Antarctica, alleges that porn sites "eroticize sexual violence, incest, and racism" and that it is impossible to "judge or verify consent in any videos …

Crypto debit card BlockCard, built by blockchain company Ternio, has increased user rewards to almost 7%. “Starting April 14th, all BlockCard users (existing and new) will be entitled to earn 6.38% back in cryptocurrency rewards on all BlockCard purchases - with no ceiling on the amount they can earn,” Ternio founder and COO Ian Kane told Cointelegraph. “You can spend $100 or $100,000 and earn 6.38% on all merchant purchases.” Many mainstream stores do not directly accept crypto assets as a payment option. BlockCard works like a normal debit card, except with crypto backing. The card allows users to transfer …