West Realm Shires Services Inc. and FTX Trading Limited recently increased the terms of its long-term global partnership, a press release reported.
"We're excited to partner with one of the world's largest payment networks to give our users the ability to use their crypto to fund purchases at millions of merchants around the globe,” Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, said. “This card allows users to make use of their FTX crypto balances 24 hours a day, 365 days a year securely and with no administrative or processing fees."
The modifications will include a global FTX-branded Visa debit cards offering, and a focus on its launching phases in Latin American, European and Asian regions.
Currently accessible in the U.S., the debit cards have recently rolled out in more than 40 additional countries, many of which are in Latin America.
The company hopes to launch the cards in Europe before the end of this year, with additional region launches scheduled for 2023.
"At Visa, we believe that digital currencies will have a lasting impact on the future of financial services and money movement," said Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa. "We're excited to partner with leading crypto exchanges like FTX to bring more flexibility and ease-of-use to the way people use their crypto—unlocking the ability to use a crypto balance to fund purchases anywhere Visa is accepted."
The new system will be directly tied to the holder’s FTX account, granting them access to 80 million Visa-accepting merchant locations worldwide. A recent report warns that “FTX Visa debit cardholders will not be subject to any administrative or processing fees for using the card.”
"Through our partnership with Visa, we are continuing to see further expansion of the connection between digital assets and the global financial ecosystem,” Adam Jacobs, global head of payments at FTX, said. “With the FTX-linked Visa debit cards, individuals can now tap into their cryptocurrency holdings for everyday spending opportunities."