Binance launches its crypto card in Colombia
Binance is launching its prepaid card in Colombia, the third country in Latin America to have the product thanks to a partnership with payments giant Mastercard.
Binance is launching its prepaid card in Colombia, the third country in Latin America to have the product thanks to a partnership with payments giant Mastercard.
Issued by Moviei, the Binance Card allows users in the region with a valid national identity document to make purchases and pay bills with cryptocurrency.
Colombia becomes the third country in Latin America to support the product, following releases in Argentina last year and in Brazil in January. The card provides customers with an easy way to acquire cryptocurrencies without having to pay fees or navigate the sometimes complicated entry processes on exchanges.
Binance card works just like any other bank card, except that it is not connected to a mobile banking app, but a crypto wallet. Users will fund transactions with any of the 12 supported cryptocurrencies, while merchants will be paid in fiat. Specifically, the supported coins are BNB, BTC, ETH, ADA, DOT, SOL, SHIB, XRP, MATIC, LINK and stablecoins, with users specifying the preferred assets on the app or website. A 0.9% conversion fee on crypto payments will apply.
Binance allows clients to top up the card with funds through the Binance Card app and then convert their crypto holdings into fiat within seconds, which can be used at over 90 million Mastercard merchants worldwide. As such, the card is not linked directly to the platform’s customer account. Binance users can manage their cards via a dedicated dashboard on the exchange’s app and website. The dashboard will contain transaction history and provide easy access to customer support.
When a cardholder makes a payment, Binance Card instantly converts the cryptocurrencies into other fiat currencies and automatically deducts all expenses and commissions that have not yet been disclosed.
Daniel Acosta, Binance’s General Manager in Colombia, said: “As one of the world leaders in crypto adoption, Colombia is an extremely relevant market for Binance. We believe that the launch of the Binance Card will encourage even wider adoption of crypto among Colombians, contributing to the development of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in the country, while taking another step to bring cryptocurrency closer to the everyday lives of millions of people.”
Latin America ranks fifth in the world for cryptocurrency usage and consistently captures between 8% and 10% of global cryptocurrency activity. The region has seen a tenfold increase in the use of cryptocurrencies in the past two years.
