Bitfinex teams up with Tap Global for Mastercard crypto card
A fintech platform called Tap Global has onboarded Tether’s sister crypto exchange, Bitfinex, as its first client for its newly-launched ‘cards as a service’ (CAAS) B2B product.
Tap’s Crypto-as-a-Service enables customers to easily buy, sell and exchange cryptocurrencies. The bespoke solution is designed to serve any bank, fintech, trading platform and financial institutions.
More specifically, the company’s cloud-based product enables Bitfinex to offer its users a prepaid Mastercard. The new offering provides clients with a simple way to acquire cryptocurrencies without having to pay fees or navigate the sometimes complicated onboarding processes. The card also offers other benefits such as access to exclusive offers with select merchants and comes with no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
Leveraging Mastercard capabilities, Bitfinex’s European users can instantly convert their cryptocurrencies into Euro, which can be spent everywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Tap Global was founded by Arsen Torosian, a former freelance software developer and cryptocurrency broker. The regulated crypto app operates as an E-money agent, covered by e-money regulations which mandate the protection of clients’ fiat balances. Tap has also ties with digital asset custodian BitGo to offer cryptocurrency insurance covering up to $100 million in funds.
David Carr, Chief Executive Officer of Tap, commented: “We are excited to add this B2B Product to Tap’s offering and look forward to supporting innovative businesses such as Bitfinex in providing their clients with financial flexibility to seamlessly convert and spend cryptocurrency assets without hindrance from the traditional banking system.Bitfinex, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is an ideal partner for the external launch of this product, which was previously only available to Tap’s userbase.”
Tap is not a simple ‘buy crypto’ app, focused solely on individual users. It is our ambition to be one of the world’s leading FinTech companies and this product is an example of our significant and growing business-focused offering,” he added.
Mastercard also integrates supported cryptocurrencies into its loyalty solutions, enabling its partners to offer rewards and loyalty points in digital assets. This allows consumers to earn and spend their rewards in cryptocurrency instead of traditional loyalty points and then convert their crypto holdings to pay for purchases.
The move comes as payment giants, including Visa and PayPal, have stepped up their engagement with cryptocurrencies in recent months, as more merchants are warming to the nascent digital asset.
