An equivalent of $40 million in various fiat currencies has been deposited on European cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO via Visa and MasterCard since buying digital currencies with payment cards became available.
Most of the money was deposited to buy bitcoins. Ether, the “crypto-fuel” for the growing Ethereum platform, was only accepted by the exchange this April, reports CryptoCoinsNews.
These 40 million include all the fiat deposits that have been made through payment cards – dollar as well as ruble and euro transactions.
Alexander Lutskevich, CEO and co-founder of CEX.IO, emphasised the importance of payment cards for cryptocurrency trade and their convenience for the user.
“We operate as a broad and reliable bridge between people who are willing to buy Bitcoin and the blockchain industry. As credit cards are still the most common thing in users’ pockets, no matter what country they come from, we decided to direct our efforts on user-friendly, fast and cheap Bitcoin purchases using payment cards,” said the financier.
The exchange has recently introduced a new function that might enhance payment cards usage within the cryptocurrency industry, that is, card withdrawals. This can be done in two steps: first, bitcoins are exchanged for fiat currency, and then it is withdrawn from the card. What is new and convenient about it is that users do not have to carry out the operation via their bank account. The new service covers all the three fiat currencies that the exchange accepts.
No fee is collected for bank transfer deposits while credit card deposits are charged with a 3.9 % plus $0.25 fee. As for withdrawals, bank transfers are charged a $50 fee, while doing that via credit card would require paying a 2.9 % + $4.99 fee. Thus, the method depends on the sum.
Another difference is that the card transaction volume limit is lower than that of a bank transfer: it does not exceed $10,000 per month.
The company opened the option to buy bitcoins with fiat currency credit card deposits in August 2014. The number of user’s cards connected to one account is unlimited. Using cards is safe, claims the company, an exchange possessing a PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certificate. Besides Visa and MasterCard, CEX.IO also accepts virtual cards such as Neteller, NetSpend or Payoneer.
Andrew Levich
