Raphael Thys
If you dabble in cryptocurrency, a new payment card has just launched with the support of Mastercard that allows you to spend the value of your crypto without actually selling it.
As Reuters reports, the card was created through a partnership between Mastercard and digital finance lending company Nexo. The so-called Nexo Card is being touted as the world's first "crypto-backed" payment card.
A physical Nexo Card is available, but a virtual card can be quickly activated by linking it to either an Apple Pay or Google Pay account. As the video above explains, you can use the card to pay for goods just like a normal credit card, with your available cryptocurrency used as collateral. It will be accepted everywhere Mastercard is.
There are no monthly, annual, or inactivity fees associated with the card, and ATM withdrawals are free. An interest rate attached to the credit you're spending, but the rate is determined by Nexo "Loyalty tier." Also, there's no minimum monthly payment required, and repaying your balance is done via the Nexo app and using the cryptocurrency you have available, be that Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Dai, or a whole host of other supported currencies.
All transactions on the card earn up to 2% in crypto rewards paid out in either Nexo or BTC. Again, this is linked to your Loyalty tier of which there are four: Base, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Which tier you fall into depends on how many Nexo Tokens you have in your account.
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The launch od the Nexo Card follows Mastercard's decision last year to make it easier for banks to launch cryptocurrency cards and loyalty programs.
