Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay was founded by Stephen Pair and Tony Gallippi in May of 2011 and has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Bitpay enables clients to directly transfer funds to a seller’s bank account through the use of a bitcoin wallet, and it is available in over 38 countries.
With the BitPay Card, any user can use their Bitcoin reserves to make payments across the entire MasterCard network. Cards can be used as prepaid debit cards, reloadable debit cards, but not as credit cards.
Additionally, BitPay offers services like BitPay Wallet, where users can manage and spend Bitcoin, as well as convert it into dollars to use with the BitPay Card.
What Is a BitPay Card? #
By using a BitPay Card, users are able to convert cryptocurrency into fiat currency, which can then be loaded onto the card and spent anywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted. BitPay Cards can also be used for online transactions and ATM withdrawals. By converting cryptocurrencies into fiat currency, BitPay helps bridge the gap between real and virtual currencies.
In June 2020, BitPay launched its Prepaid Mastercard.
How Does the BitPay Card Work? #
Unlike a credit card, the BitPay Card works as a prepaid debit card that can be reloaded. In exchange for a flat 1% settlement fee, businesses can accept Bitcoin as payment and receive direct bank deposits in their currency of choice. With BitPay, you can settle your payments in eight currencies and make direct bank deposits in 38 countries. Bitcoin can be settled in 233 countries.
BitPay announced in February 2021 that BitPay Prepaid Mastercard holders could add their cards to Apple Wallet and use Apple Pay. Additionally, customers who are waiting for their physical cards can add their virtual cards to Apple Wallet via the BitPay Wallet app and make purchases right away. Later this year, the company will also add support for Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
By September 2020, the industry that accepted the most cryptocurrency payments through BitPay worldwide was the prepaid card and gift card industry, which accounted for 26.3% of all BitPay payments. According to AksjeBloggen, Bitcoin payments are most widely used in the financial services and Internet industries, with 23% of companies using cryptocurrency.
References:
BitPay Card Definition. (2021, March 25). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bitpay-card.asp
https://bitpay.com/
