The payment card industry has been evolving over the past few decades. And although traditional payment card was designed long before the internet and crypto, it has a place in the emerging financial ecosystem.
In this article, we’ll look at how the future will shape this industry and how crypto, in particular, is helping make payment cards relevant.
Crypto will be the payment cards’ future.
The primary way crypto makes payment cards relevant is through crypto debit cards. These cards allow you to spend your cryptocurrency assets at any merchant or retailer that accepts Visa or Mastercard. While they are similar to traditional bank cards, they have one key difference: they are loaded with digital currency instead of cash.
These cards make it easy for anyone who wants to use their cryptocurrencies in everyday life by converting them into fiat currencies at the point of sale, so users don’t have to worry whether a merchant accepts crypto.
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Here are some advantages that come with using crypto-debit cards:
A bridge between digital assets and the existing infrastructure.
Debit cards provide a bridge between digital assets and established financial institutions. They allow you to HODL and spend cryptocurrencies anywhere that accepts debit cards, NFC payments, and contactless payments. They can be used for online purchases, in-store purchases, and cash withdrawals from ATMs.
Even if most merchants around the globe are in a position to easily accept crypto, payment card has other utility values that might continue making them relevant. For example, they can serve as a symbol of style, status, and prestige. That is how metal cards find demand in the market.
Indeed, the designs of the more unique and personalized metal cards could easily be turned into non-fungible token (NFT) assets traded on the blockchain with the potential for creators to earn royalties.
What crypto gets in return
Meanwhile, crypto does also benefit from embracing payment cards. Crypto debit cards are a great way for people to get started with cryptocurrency. They allow users to spend their crypto holdings, which can help ease them into the ecosystem and make them more comfortable with digital assets.
The cards also allow users not to worry that many merchants do not accept crypto either because they know little about it, the regulatory environment does not allow it, or the lack of relevant logistics.
A crypto debit card and NFC.
Some crypto debit cards have NFC functionality, which enables them to process payments via contactless technology. NFC (Near Field Communications) is a wireless communication technology that allows two devices to exchange data near each other.
It’s used in mobile payments where you tap your phone or chip-enabled card against a reader at checkout, but it can also be used for other things like sharing files between devices and unlocking hotel rooms by tapping on an electronic keypad.
This technology could be added to the payment card, alongside blockchain and crypto, to make it more functional and relevant for the foreseeable future.
As you can see, crypto debit cards offer a way for people to enter the crypto ecosystem. They’re also much more convenient than selling cryptocurrency for fiat currency before shopping in brick-and-mortar and online stores.
