The utility of cryptocurrencies is becoming mainstream and a lot has been done in the last couple of years to roll out some unique use cases. Regardless of how beneficial and secure these assets are, there are some problems. For instance, if you are on a vacation in another country and you want to use your debit card but you run out of funds, you have to visit an online cryptocurrency exchange to trade your BTCs (or any other crypto for that matter) and receive the funds in your bank account. While people have been using this method for quite some time now, it is evident that it’s a very time-consuming and inefficient procedure.
Therefore, we now have crypto cards that just act like your regular debit cards. Adding more to your assurances, they even carry a Mastercard or Visa logo. The basic concept is that instead of fetching the funds from your bank account, these crypto cards are linked to your online wallet and explicitly make use of the cryptocurrency you possess in a particular wallet.
Before we move on and have a look at a couple of use cases offered by crypto cards, please note that essentially, their task is to perform cryptocurrency conversion on the spot. So practically, you can use them almost everywhere where a regular debit card would work.
ATM Access
If you prefer shopping offline or you just want to withdraw money for any reason, simply visit an ATM booth and enter your crypto card. It works like a regular debit card and you can withdraw the required amount in an instant.
You are no longer required to visit an exchange to convert the cryptocurrency into USD by placing a trade order and waiting for an interested party to respond.
Online Shopping
Your crypto card can also be used for online shopping wherever Visa (or Mastercard) is accepted. Just visit the website or app (e.g. Amazon, eBay, etc.) on your device and when you have added everything in the cart, navigate to the checkout page and look out for the relevant logo to confirm that the vendor is accepting your card. That’s it!
Please note that some merchants do accept cryptocurrencies as well, so you do not have to convert the tokens into any fiat in such cases. Simply place the order if their supported currency is present in your wallet. By doing this, the transaction fee will be reduced and there will not be any conversion cost as well.
Traveling
Oftentimes, traveling becomes a major hassle when people realize in the middle of nowhere that their debit card has run out of credit. Well, those days are long gone. If you ever find yourself in such a situation where your wallet runs out of balance and you can only use a debit card, simply transfer the funds from another wallet and within seconds (minutes, at max) you can reuse the crypto card.
Receive Interest
Crypto card providers are planning to reward HODLers by allowing them to earn interest, depending upon the net value of their wallet. A few companies, like CoinZoom (i.e. CZ), have already announced that they would offer an interest of up to 8% on selected cards, thus facilitating the members to establish another revenue stream as well.
Earn with Debit Roundups
By shopping on crypto cards, you do not just ‘spend’. In fact, you get a chance to earn roundups as well. For instance, if you buy a keychain for $9.4 on an online store, it will be rounded off to the nearest ten, which is ‘9’ in this case, hence allowing you to save $0.4 on this mini purchase. It may seem insignificant for now but in the long run, the accumulation really pays well.
Please note that this amount is deposited into your wallet and can be used on the subsequent purchase. Other than that, you can also buy cryptocurrencies on an exchange by using this deposited amount.
Avail Discounts
If there is any discount going on at your preferred brand or restaurant in the US that entertains Visa or Mastercard, you can use a crypto card and avail the same perks as a regular debit card user.
Receive Airdrops
Some crypto card providers allow their members to earn exclusive airdrops as well. Just to explain better, we will take CZ’s example in this case, which enables ‘Visa Rewards’ members to receive NEO airdrops and other ICO incentives. These funds will automatically be deposited in your hot wallet and you can use them wherever the Visa card is accepted.
Receive Airdrops
Refuel the car
The days are long gone when people used to pay cash on fueling stations – even the bank-associated debit cards are also on the verge of being replaced by crypto cards.
Just select the crypto you want to pay in and the equivalent amount will be cut from your current wallet, converted into USD and you are good to go!
Club Memberships
Club memberships cost plenty of money and it’s just not feasible for some people to have that kind of amount in their bank accounts. However, with the passage of time, their crypto wallets may have the required balance due to a sudden price fluctuation (upwards), by receiving interest or any other reason. Hence, in such scenarios, a crypto card can be used without any hassle to buy club membership(s).
Buy Gift Cards
Several e-commerce stores, including Amazon, allow their users to buy gift cards for someone so they can shop later. It is worth noticing that they entertain Visa and Mastercard as well and every crypto card carries one of these logos.
Please refer to the list below to have a quick look at some of the companies that offer feasibility in this case:
Wirex
Coinbase
CoinZoom (up and coming!)
Nexo
BitPay
Jubiter
Conclusion
It is evident that the industry is revolutionizing and the business of crypto cards is becoming mainstream. It does not only allow you to spend easily and receive discounts but with this unique product, you can also earn cryptocurrency by spending or holding a minimum threshold of tokens in your wallet.