Binance, one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges having operations across the world, is now facilitating its clients to purchase crypto directly using Visa credit and debit cards.
Binance stated that its clients will be able to buy four cryptos after linking their accounts to Visa cards granted within the European Economic Area.
After linking the Visa card, clients will be able to purchase any of the four cryptos namely, Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP and Binance’s native token Binance Coin (BNB) by making payments in the euros or British pounds.
As per the announcement, Binance intends to provide support for Mastercard and other currencies in the forthcoming weeks.
The exchange also intends to widen its service to other jurisdictions outside the European Economic Area.
Binance has earlier made attempts to facilitate crypto buying with credit and debit cards. In September 2019, the cryptocurrency exchange announced that its users will be able to purchase five cryptos including Ether and Bitcoin by paying through Mastercard and Visa.
Payment processing firm Koinal handles the payments for a 2.5% fee. Nevertheless, Koinal is unavailable in several jurisdictions worldwide, including the US, mainland China and Russia.
Across the globe, cryptocurrency exchanges are trying to draw more clients by offering new ways of purchasing and utilizing cryptocurrencies, either by including fiat gateways, rolling out their own debit cards or as seen in the present case, facilitating direct crypto buying via top payment processing firms.
Nevertheless, numerous key financial service providers have pronounced their apprehension regarding what they consider to be an unstable and unregulated asset type. Last year, several banks prohibited clients from purchasing cryptocurrencies with their credit cards.
This includes Citibank India, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo. In the UK, Lloyd’s Banking Group and Virgin Money also implemented comparable bans.
Last month, Argentina’s central bank prohibited cardholders from purchasing cryptos using their cards soon after putting in place extra capital controls. Along with crypto purchase limitations, the bank had announced controls on the greenback, as it endeavors to reverse the peso’s slump.
