The Swedish crypto company Quickbit has introduced its own crypto debit card through its partnership with Intergiro, a Swedish banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider.
Introduced within its native market on 3 May, the card enables cryptocurrency holders to use their digital assets to pay for everyday transactions.
Connected and controlled through its app via the embedding of Intergiro’s BaaS solution, the card has become the latest addition to Quickbit’s product offering.
The functionality of the card enables settlements for crypto and fiat exchanges, a highly in-demand feature given the on and off-ramp difficulties that are typical of the crypto user experience.
2022 is poised to be the year that crypto payments come into full functionality. Visa reported $2.5billion worth of transactions using crypto-linked cards in the first fiscal quarter of 2022, also reporting that 67 per cent of its users who own crypto would consider using it for purchases if it were linked to a mobile wallet.
This coincides with research from the payments network Mercuryo, which stated that the ability to accept crypto-based payments would give merchants a more competitive edge. And although this is supported by figures from Paysafe, which indicate that the acceptance of crypto by retailers would accelerate the acceptance of crypto at a societal level, the idea clashes considerably with the findings of Invoiced and PaymentsNEXT, which found that 59 per cent of retailers aren’t keen on the idea of accepting crypto or are not open to the idea at all.
Despite the doubts, the industry has been working overtime as of late to ensure the eventual arrival of a crypto reality; including Quickbit’s various competitors.
Last month, the end-to-end payment ecosystem provider Monneo introduced its ‘risk-free’ crypto solution for merchants, preceded by Singapore-based FOMO Pay‘s equally as intriguing crypto solution a mere week earlier.
“To support crypto adoption, the user experience needs to be as smooth as possible,” states Intergiro chief revenue officer Adam Sadler. “We are proud to have developed a product enabling customers to spend their crypto assets globally. Thanks to Intergiro, crypto holders can now spend their assets and investments with ease.”
Later this year, Quickbit plans to incorporate Intergiro’s ‘SmartBalance’ feature, which enables users to connect their card to a crypto wallet in the app. Intergiro clients are able to use this feature to fund card transactions in real time from any external source, whether it is crypto, loyalty points, instant discounts or other assets such as commodities or pension funds.
“Thanks to Intergiro, we are delighted to offer our users an innovative payment solution that makes it easy for them to use their cryptocurrencies for everyday transactions,” said Quickbit CEO, Hammad Abuiseifan.
“This is a major step forward in our mission to remove barriers for people to use cryptocurrencies for their everyday needs.”
