NEAR-powered NearPay launches custodial Crypto Wallet in Europe and UK

NearPay has launched virtual crypto cards and its Wallet for iOS and Android in a move that aims to strengthen the firm’s position in the NEAR Protocol.

Available on all platforms, including Web, iOS and Android, NearPay allows users to buy, send, receive, exchange, and withdraw crypto using credit card or a bank transfer.

The Visa debit card lets registered customers spend their crypto holdings for online purchases with automatic conversion to fiat. The service is available to residents of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK.

38 cryptos available on NearPay Wallet

NearPay Wallet already supports 38 cryptocurrencies and will soon provide earning rewards with a compound rate of up to 15.81% API without any deposit or withdrawal fees. Along with crypto payments and conversion, users can make conventional bank transfers in EUR and GBP.

Ivan Ilin, Chief Operating Officer at NearPay, said: “At NearPay we have taken the best features of modern digital banking and brought them to the world of crypto to create a simple interface that makes managing all your finances, both fiat and crypto, easier than ever. With our newly launched iOS and Android apps our customers can access NearPay Wallet on the go and instantly get virtual crypto cards to spend their assets without converting them in advance“.

Crypto payments will surpass $10 billion in total transaction value globally for the first time in 2022, according to Insider Intelligence.

NearPay Wallet is a custodial wallet that lets users directly own crypto assets. The stand to affirm the custodial nature of the crypto wallet at NearPay is explained by the current wave of non–custodial wallets being launched by retail fintech apps. These allow customers to purchase crypto, but users are actually buying a synthetic asset that can’t be withdrawn.

NearPay creates crypto-fiat solutions focused on the NEAR Protocol. Ivan Ilin, the chief operating officer, is responsible for implementing the strategy, managing key partnerships, organizing the product development and legal processes.

Prior to joining NearPay, he was the co-founder of the B2C Da-Mart product delivery service in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The service was launched in 2020 and is still operating. He was also Executive Director of Apiqa LLC, a former IT division of PIK-Comfort, Russia’s largest private management company in the housing and utilities sector.