Leading crypto exchange Binance and payment giant Mastercard have partnered to launch a cryptocurrency-linked prepaid card in Brazil as part of Binance’s expansion plans in Latin America. The Binance card offers 8% cashback on eligible purchases, and on-the-fly conversions of 13 different cryptos for payments to local merchants.
Brazil Gains Access to Binance Prepaid Card
Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange allowing for the buying and selling of digital assets, announced on January 30 the launch of its Binance Card in Brazil, enabling crypto users to transfer cryptocurrency funds to traditional merchants. The card, which is powered by Mastercard, enables customers to transact across Brazil’s entire network using 13 supported cryptocurrencies, along with conversions to Brazilian Real.
The launch of the product is not particularly surprising. Matthew Shroder, Binance’s vice-chairman and international regional director, had accepted in September that Brazil was one of the leading markets for the launch of the prepaid card in Latin America.
Purchases made using fiat currency will not incur any transaction fees. However, conversions involving crypto-to-fiat will be charged a flat fee of 0.9%. Additionally, users can earn 8% cryptocurrency cashback on eligible purchases.
The exchange is making this move as part of its effort to increase its presence in the country. Brazil is the second market through which the product is launched. Binance launched an identical product in Argentina for the first time in August of last year.
Bringing Money and Cryptocurrencies Closer
For Binance, there is potential for cryptocurrencies to continue to evolve in the payments space, and since Brazil is likely the largest payment facility in the continent, the interest to bring these services to the country is obvious. On the objectives Binance seeks to achieve, Guilherme Nazar, Binance’s General Manager for Brazil, stated:
Payments are the most obvious use case for cryptocurrency, but adoption is still a distant possibility. We believe that the launch of the Binance Card is a major step towards encouraging wider cryptocurrency use and global adoption. Brazilians are an ideal market for innovation.
Nazar further mentioned that the Brazilian market was one of the most mature markets in the region, and the firm would continue to position itself to deliver new services to help the nation adopt blockchain and crypto.
Binance, however, did not provide any specific details regarding the availability of the product.
What do you think of the launch of the Binance Prepaid Card in Brazil? Let us know in the comments below.
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