Visa partners with Fold to offer Bitcoin rewards on new cards

Visa Inc., a leading credit card company has finalized a deal that is set to boost the mainstream adoption of bitcoin (BTC). The firm joined hands with a startup known as Fold to launch a card that earns BTC rewards instead of airline miles or cash. The news was unveiled on April 9, noting that the co-branded debit card would offer its users BTC rewards as much as 10 percent of their purchases.

In an interview, Fold’s CEO, Will Reeves said that he expects this initiative to introduce a new wave of consumers to the world’s most valuable digital asset.

He added that,

Simplifying BTC technology for retailers

According to Reeves, retailers find it challenging to use Bitcoin technology. This is because they must create an account on an exchange and set up a virtual wallet to ward off hackers. As such, he revealed that Fold is working to simplify this process.

He added that Fold users will also have the option of spending BTC within the firm’s ecosystem. This would help them buy US Dollar-denominated gift cards at firms such as Starbucks or Uber.

Expressing his enthusiasm on this project, Reeves noted that,

Reeves unveiled that they seek to begin issuing the cards in July this year. However, he declined to comment on the names of the banks that are backing this project.

Visa’s evolving stance on the crypto space

Visa’s history with crypto has not always been amicable. Before this partnership, the credit card giant got into a public fight with Coinbase exchange two years ago. Reportedly, customers purchasing crypto on Coinbase using Visa debit cards faced double charges. Shifting the blame to Coinbase, Visa claimed that the exchange had an overcharge bug.

However, the two firms came to the bottom of this issue by reversing all duplicate transactions. Soon after, the two firms joined hands to roll out the Coinbase Card, which allows users to spend BTC using the Visa debit card.

Do you think Visa and Fold’s partnership will help boost BTC’s price? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.