Customers of Bitfinex, the crypto exchange and sister company of Tether coin, can now purchase Cryptocurrencies directly using debit and credit cards. The crypto-to-crypto exchange has joined forces with two third-party processing firms, Mercuryo and OWNR Wallet, to enable users to make card purchases directly on its platform.
At launch, the exchange is supporting credit card purchase for bitcoin, tether (USDt), ether, and other ERC20 tokens. According to Bitfinex’s terms and conditions pages, unverified customers will be subject to restrictions when buying certain cryptocurrencies using a credit or debit card. Further, they can only use the services of Estonian crypto Payments provider Mercuryo, which also works with Coinbase and CEX exchanges.
Bitfinex’s verified customers will be able to purchase USDT via OWNR Wallet, also a private limited company based in Estonia.
“The introduction of credit and debit card support once again demonstrates our ongoing commitment to engaging with new customers to grow the wider crypto community,” said Bitfinex.
Purchasing cryptocurrency with a credit card is controversial
The move comes shortly after Bitfinex strengthened its compliance profile through a partnership with Chainalysis, a New York-based provider of software for real-time monitoring of cryptocurrencies transactions. The announcement comes amid reports linking Bitfinex to drug trafficking and money-laundering schemes operated by the owners of Crypto Capital.
Purchasing cryptocurrency with a credit card has been a controversial topic due to regulatory restrictions. In addition, a sizable number of banks are not allowing their customers to use their credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies due to their volatile nature. However, an increasing number of digital asset platforms moved from being crypto-only to offer fiat currency options to customers.
One of the prominent players in this space is Israeli-based payments provider Simplex, which allows users to swap between a range of over 1,200 crypto assets. Simplex charges 3.5 percent of a transaction, with a $10 minimum purchase amount. The company also applies various restrictions, including a $20,000 maximum for daily transactions when using a credit or debit card, as well as a $50,000 maximum monthly limit.
Specially issued crypto cards are also another option that is quite popular in the crypto space, allowing the purchase of debit cards which can then be topped up with cryptocurrencies and spent at thousands of credit card-accepting merchants worldwide.
