Bitmama – Nigerian blockchain company has launched its new product – Physical Crypto Cards, which would be used for in-store payments.
The announcement of the product which was done on Saturday, the 5th of March 2022, revealed that the new cards can be funded with the stable coins – USDT, USDC, cUSD. This is further aid users spend their cryptos directly without first converting to fiat.
The launch of the cards is coming three month after Bitmama had successfully launched its virtual crypto cards which allows its users to spend crypto directly without having to first convert to fiat.
The new physical cards comes with a feature of – Buy Crypto, Pay Later (BCPL). This solution would permit users to borrow up to $150 to purchase and also, pay back within a given period.
Speaking on the launch, Akinbola Asalu, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Bitmama stated that the introduction of the crypto cards was done to enable the average African transact internationally without the problems often bedeviling such transactions.
According to Asalu, “International payments for the average African is a complete hassle. This was quite evident during our team’s recent trip to Nairobi, Kenya for the African Tech Summit. While we paid for our flight tickets, visa fees, Airbnb, Bolt rides, and literally all forms of online payments with our Bitmama’virtual crypto cards, making the in-store payment was difficult as our local naira debit cards kept declining on POS devices and ATMs due to the $100/month FX spending limit on local cards, which has been recently lowered to $20/month by several local banks in Nigeria. Hence, we had to resort to holding physical dollars, which is tough to source, in order to convert to local currency at a BDC.”
“Needless to say, this was the experience of the majority of international travellers at the event, who kept stopping by our booth to ask for physical cards. By popular request, we are again pleased to say that our physical crypto cards are here and have come to stay. Anyone can request and use these cards”, he added.
This innovation by Bitmama has positioned it to being the first mainstream African blockchain company to launch physical crypto cards.
Furthermore, the company has added that its ambition is to onboard the next billion crypto users by building lifestyle crypto products and pushing the narrative of crypto beyond trading, thereby letting its users spend directly with their crypto, without converting to fiat.
Currently, the company prides itself in helping thousands of its customers across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and other countries. to facilitate millions of transactions annually through its diverse features including P2P, (Buy Crypto, Pay Later) BCPL, trading and crypto bill payments.
Due to its funding capabilities from stable coins – USDT, USDC, cUSD, Bitmama has over $10,000 as its monthly spending limits at the best rates for international spending. Also, the new card works on in-store payment options (e.g. POS terminals) and can be used to withdraw from ATMs anywhere in the world.
The cards can also be used for online payments for platforms like Bolt, Uber, Spotify, AWS, eBay, Asos, Facebook, among others. The card will be delivered to users anywhere in the world with no minimum deposit required to get a card.
