US customers will be able to earn up to 4% back in crypto rewards on their daily spending
Coinbase announced yesterday the launch of their Coinbase Card in the US. It is a Visa debit card that allows users to spend the cryptocurrencies in their Coinbase account anywhere that accepts visa cards. The card can also be used for cash withdrawals and Coinbase automatically converts all cryptocurrency to US dollars before completing purchases and ATM withdrawals.
Customers have the opportunity to earn rewards on their daily spending, with the choice of receiving either 4% back in Stellar Lumens (XLM) or 1% back in Bitcoin.
Users will be able to manage their spending and rewards through the Coinbase app, with the option of spending stablecoins such as USDC or any other cryptocurrencies supported by Coinbase in the US (though there is a transaction fee for non-USDC spending). The app provides security through two-step verification and instant card freeze, as well as offering users spending summaries, transaction receipts and instant notifications.
Although the card isn’t available in the US quite yet, customers can apply to join the waiting list, with Coinbase saying that the first customers would be approved this winter. They will be able to spend their virtual card immediately after approval and their physical card will arrive up to a fortnight later.
The Coinbase Card is already available in the UK and almost 30 countries across Europe, however the rewards program is currently only available to US customers. Coinbase’s UK and EU cards also differ in that they only support nine cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, BAT, REP, ZRX, and XLM), and they have higher daily spending limits — £10,000 and €10,000 respectively — compared with $2,500 in the US.
Coinbase said in a blog post yesterday “The introduction of Coinbase Card was a significant milestone in our efforts to create mainstream adoption of crypto as a genuine utility. Today’s announcement is another step forward in the real-world applications of cryptocurrency as it enables more options for Coinbase customers in the US to utilize their holdings.”
This isn’t the first crypto card however – the launch of the Binance Card in Europe and the UK was also announced this year.