Crypto adoption is expanding into the Latin American market with new prepaid crypto cards available for crypto users. Ripio, a Latin American crypto exchange, is rolling out a prepaid debit card in Brazil that allows crypto payments. Users also get cashback rewards in Bitcoin when they use the card.
Users to Get Up to 5% Cashback
Crypto exchange Ripio announced the initial rollout of their prepaid debit card in partnership with Visa. The card allows Ripio users to use their crypto holdings for traditional payments. Although the official website states that the virtual card can only be used for online purchases, the physical card allows users to make purchases in both digital and physical formats where Visa cards are accepted. Crypto users can pay using their cards with any of the 28 cryptocurrencies accepted by the exchange, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC), and the Brazilian Real.
With every purchase made, Ripio Card users can get up to 5% cashback in bitcoin. Ripio will immediately convert any bitcoin spent for a purchase to Brazilian Real when the card is used. Through this conversion, the crypto exchange can complete the transaction in fiat on behalf of the Visa network, paying the merchant in reals.
The maximum monthly bitcoin reward amount is R$250 and it won’t be credited after October 31. Additionally, users of the Ripio Card won’t pay any fees when using their bitcoins anywhere in the world that accepts Visa transactions.
Ripio, with a user base of about a million, expects to launch 250,000 physical cards by the end of the year. The firm has not excluded releasing the debit card in additional countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Spain, and Uruguay, in addition to Argentina, where it will be released later this year.
About Ripio
Ripio is a financial payment company operating in Latin America. The exchange uses blockchain technology to construct the necessary infrastructure for the local crypto ecosystem to increase people’s access to the digital economy in developing countries. The Ripio Credit Network was developed by a firm in Buenos Aires to connect independent lenders and borrowers all over the world using smart contracts built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Since its inception, Ripio has been making big moves in the crypto space to expand crypto adoption in Latin America. In January 2021, the exchange bought the Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Bitcoin Trade. The firm also established a B2B division to meet the demand for private-label cryptocurrency solutions from regional businesses. Ripio also released a Web3 wallet in July called Ripio Portal, which can be used to store non-fungible tokens and connect to distributed applications and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols (NFT).
Recently, the company assisted in the development of Mercado Coin, a cryptocurrency released last week by Mercado Libre (MELI), the largest e-commerce company in Latin America by market cap. Mercado Coin, the cryptocurrency used in the Mercado Libre digital wallet, is held in custody and traded by Ripio.
