2020-3-18 00:30 |
Users of Coinbase Card who also own Android supported smartphones can now integrate the two through Google Pay. This means that the card can now be imitated by a smartphone.
Coinbase Card links a crypto holder’s balance as reflected in the exchange platform which can then be utilized to spend the cryptocurrency through immediate conversion to fiat.
Announce in a blogpost made by Coinbase, the new service will only be available to European Union residents as well as those within the European Economic Area including the United Kingdom. However, the card can be used to spend crypto anywhere that Visa is supported in the world.
As per the announcement, Google Pay will now imitate the actual card during offline buying as the NFC chip contained in the device will be used on any terminal which contactless payments has been enabled. This means that Android supported smartphones or smartwatches are eligible for use. However, the NFC chip requirement indicates that various budget-based devices may lack the requisite Google Pay support.
The press release also clarified that due to existing Google Pay restrictions, the service will not be available in various countries where the Coinbase Card is supported. Some of the countries where Google Pay has restrictions include, UK, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Czech, Croatia, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Belgium, Finland and France. However, Coinbase has committed to expand the list of supported countries in the near future.
The linkage with Google Pay now means that one can use the card just after ordering before the physical card can be delivered. It however remains unknown whether there are plans to support Apple Pay in the near future to tap to a wider market.
In the recent past, Coinbase has been pushing for an increase in debit card adoption. Last month, Coinbase was given the priority of being a principal Visa card issuer which means that the crypto exchange firm can now issue debit cards directly rather than relying on partners.
The current Coinbase Card was developed in partnership with Paysafe Financial Services which is behind products such as Skrill as well as PaysafeCard.
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