Wirex — the first cryptocurrency platform to be granted a Mastercard principal membership — will release a new multi-currency card on the heels of the membership.
Wirex is a London-based crypto payment processor and is regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, with a license to issue crypto cards in Europe.
The multi-currency Wirex Card will be supported by Mastercard and linked to 19 crypto and fiat currency accounts in the Wirex app. An official release date has not yet been announced.
In a bid to encourage the use of cryptocurrency for everyday payments, the company is also upgrading its existing “Cryptoback” rewards program, which had until now rewarded users with up to 1.5% back in Bitcoin (BTC) for each in-store transaction.
From now on, rewards will be up to 2% online and in-store, with up to 6 percent rewards on customers’ native Wirex Token balance annually.
Ahead of the Mastercard offering, Wirex is also rolling out several other new features, building on a partnership with payments solution company LHV.
In the European Economic Area, the new features, now live, include support for five new currencies: the Coration Kuna, Czech koruna, Polish złoty, Romanian leu and Hungarian forint.
Earlier this year, the platform hit over three million active users, seeing adoption among more mainstream users “who are not typically hardcore cryptocurrency users,” according to its CEO.
Wirex’s service allows users in 130 countries to spend their cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies using an existing dedicated Visa card and mobile app.
Signs of deepening integration between the worlds of plastic and of crypto have been strong and both Mastercard and Visa continue to establish working relationships with prominent cryptocurrency firms.
Coinbase’s card was the first physical crypto card to be released in the United States market and supported both Visa and Mastercard payment networks.
Mastercard has this year actively sought out crypto exchanges and payment service providers to enlist in its recently expanded cryptocurrency card program.
This summer, Visa’s outline of its approach toward digital currencies affirmed that cryptocurrency has become “a concept that is gaining traction beyond fintechs.”
