Visa and Ripio launch crypto debit card in Brazil

In collaboration with the Brazilian crypto service provider Ripio, Visa launches a crypto debit card in Brazil.

In collaboration with the Brazilian crypto service provider Ripio Visa is launching a crypto debit card in Brazil. This was reported by the Brazilian news outlet Portal do Bitcoin. In addition to crypto payments, users of the "Ripio Card" can also receive up to 5 percent cashback rewards in Bitcoin on every purchase. The cashback option is initially limited to 250 Brazilian reais per user, which is roughly 50 euros.

When paying with the card, bitcoins are automatically converted into reais. The card will be available worldwide and will be free in stores that process Visa. Sebastian Serrano, CEO of Ripio, says this is an "excellent return tool for customers and clearly superior to what traditional financial institutions offer".

According to the company’s initial projections, by December this year an estimated 250,000 users will be using the prepaid card. The company joins the long list of institutions expanding their crypto services in Brazil. As a global payments provider, Visa also appears to be leaning more into cryptocurrencies. In partnership with major exchanges like Binance or Coinbase, crypto payments via a Visa debit card are already possible.

Yesterday, competitor Mastercard also unveiled a crypto debit card in collaboration with Binance.