Wirex Expands Cryptocurrency Card To US: 'It Is What The Industry Needs For Mass Adoption'

Founded in 2014, Wirex is a provider of cryptocurrency wallets that has developed on a global scale. This week, the company announced a launch in the U.S.

Just a few weeks ahead of the Nov. 14 Benzinga Fintech Summit, Benzinga spoke with Wirex North American CEO Vroon Modgill on the company’s exciting move overseas — one that will raise the paltry 0.3-percent global acceptance rate for cryptocurrency payments.   

Highlights

Wirex said it has teamed with i2c to launch the first-ever prepaid card in the U.S. backed by cryptocurrencies. With this initiative, the company will extend its existing European Visa Card program, which enables cardholders to use the platform anywhere that Visa is accepted.

“The Wirex prepaid card will allow American consumers to instantly convert their bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum or Litecoin and spend in stores, bars and restaurants, on transport, online or withdraw from ATMs,” the company said in a press release. 

“Our technology eliminates the problems of the here and now. It is what the industry needs for mass adoption, with 250,000 merchants and over 210 countries,” Modgill told Benzinga.

Rise Of Crypto

Modgill says cryptocurrencies are being adopted en masse in a variety of industries and locations.

“San Francisco, for example, has the highest degree of cryptocurrency of any city in the world, with over 177 merchants that are accepting bitcoin and about 28 bitcoin ATMs in operation.”

For Modgill and Wirex, it's all about exposure and education on a rather elusive form of payment.

“This is why the Visa card — and the fact that it’s Visa-accredited and 14 million merchants accept it — is a way we hope to educate people using crypto and to look into it further.”

The Platform

The app features real-time alerts, budget planning and spend controls, Modgill said.

"The budget features will show you on the app where you are spending your money, and we’re adopting a budgetary requirement so you have what you can spend and you can have a planning tool for how much to spend for the month.”

“Wirex is unlike any competitors; we don’t have a traditional business model,” the CEO said. 

Want to learn more about the industry and meet leaders of the hottest fintech startups in person? Be sure to grab your tickets to the BZ Summit before they sell out.

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Photo courtesy of Wirex.