By
Steve Muchoki
April 24th, 2024
Binance Card could soon enter the United States, thanks to a partnership of Swipe that will provide users in the U.S. with direct USD deposits.
Binance’s long-awaited cryptocurrency debit card, Binance Card, has started to clear the path through the countries of the European Economic Area, or EEA. Binance told media in July that EEA-based users will finally be eligible to apply for a Binance Card starting in August. As it was already reported, right now, Swipe is available in 31 countries within the EEA, including countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, among others. Swipe is still not accessible in the United States, but the company announced it intends to release the Binance Card service as soon as possible, or, better yet, when it completes appropriate licensing and registrations.
The company stated that while the citizens of the United Kingdom will probably be able to follow pretty soon, users in other regions are invited to “register their interest” via the Binance Card website.
Four Cryptos Available at the Start
As per the announcement, Binance Card intends to support a total of four cryptocurrencies at the very start. Supported cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin (BTC), Swipe’s native SXP token, as well as Binance’s native token BNB and stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD).
The Binance Card unfold will enable its users to transfer their cryptos to fiat right away and spend them at over 60 million merchants across 200 regions and territories.
The company stressed that the Binance Card will basically work like a normal debit card and will not ask users to manually convert crypto to fiat before making a purchase.
Binance Card users will be able to recharge their card wallet directly from their spot wallet on Binance as well as choose the order of preference to debit their BTC, BNB, SXP and BUSD assets.
Swipe CEO Joselito Lizarondo explained:
“For example, if I have 50 euros in BTC and 50 euros in BNB, if I made a transaction for 75 euros, it would be approved and then it would deduct my crypto in the order I selected.”
The Swipe platform will make it possible for its users to keep their cryptocurrency in their card wallet and only convert them to fiat currencies when a transaction is taking place.
Collaborating with Over 60 Million Merchants
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said he expects Binance Card will greatly contribute to the adoption of crypto around the world:
“By providing a tangible way to transact, convert and spend crypto for everyday use, we are furthering our mission of making crypto more accessible to the masses. Giving users the ability to convert and spend their crypto directly with merchants around the world, will make the crypt experience more seamless and applicable.”
Last week, Zhao showed how the Binance Card transactions works and therefore officially confirmed that Binance Card will be powered by Swipe. Binance acquired Swipe in July, marking its second acquisition this year. According to the official announcement, the aim of his acquisition was to push the use of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream by encouraging payments with cryptos through traditional financial systems such are the debit cards.
Right now, the Swipe platform aa wide range of digital assets that enable them to remain in their native form until a point-of-sale/transaction occurs. The selected digital asset is then converted to fiat currencies to load on the Swipe Visa Debit Card which can then be users to pay in more than 60 million locations around the world with just a tap of a few buttons and a “swipe” of a card. Cardholders can also enjoy up to 4% cashback in Bitcoin on every purchase as well as discounted fees by using SXP on the Swipe platform.