Details

We have all been familiar with the VISA payment system for a long time. It ensures the security of our credit and debit cards, allowing us to easily use them in our daily lives.

We pay with cards in cafes, on public transport, and in cinemas. We tap them over a reader, enter a PIN-code, and the money is debited from our accounts. The intermediary in these transactions is VISA, a global payment system that allows cardholders, as well as trade and service companies, and government agencies in more than 200 countries around the world to access a fast and reliable electronic payment system.

Conventional bank cards, of course, have their advantages, especially for fiat money holders. However, imagine that one day you will tap a card over the terminal, which is supervised by VISA, and not dollars or euros, but bitcoins, ethereum or other altcoins will be debited from your card. It has already become a reality! And moreover, today there is a cryptocurrency card that can be used to pay anywhere where VISA cards are accepted. The card is available and works at any point of sale.

Lost in crypto translation

VISA’s attitude towards holders of crypto cards has never been clear-cut. The events of 2018, when the payment system blocked crypto cards from Wirex, TenX, Xapo and Cryptopay without warning, are still fresh in memory. VISA claimed that the reason for blocking was not the company policy against cryptocurrencies, but a banal non-compliance with the terms of membership. This news must have discouraged many users, especially those who at this very moment were trying to pay at the checkout of the store or in a cafe. After the incident, the enthusiasm of crypto card holders has noticeably decreased.

A complicated relationship was also traced between VISA and Facebook’s Libra currency, in which VISA, along with PayPal, Uber and MasterCard, invested $10 million each. After political pressure on Libra, VISA CEO Alfred Kelly said that this investment had no real significance, and refused to cooperate. As a result, VISA, as well as MasterCard, left the Libra project. Like in a financial reality show.

In early February 2021, the VISA payment system announced the creation of its own software — the Crypto API — which will allow customers of credit institutions to interact with cryptocurrencies. Alfred Kelly, noting the fact of the rapid and widespread use of cryptocurrencies, attributes this to the fact that users perceive digital currencies not only as a new asset class, but also as a means of payment.

VISA’s decision is clear and logical — this approach takes time. The market is constantly throwing up new challenges; there is almost nothing permanent left there, something that you can be sure of, such as gold. Cryptocurrency, in turn, has long ceased to be the object of interest for the end users only, some major organizations and governments of many countries have already taken heed of it. The VISA Crypto API project can and should become an impetus for full-scale financial integration for the cryptocurrency.

All in VISA’s hands

The Crypto API project is mainly focused on simplifying transactions with digital assets. It will allow users to buy cryptocurrency easily and securely, as well as invest in it all over the world. This is how the head of VISA comments on the project:

The Crypto API project is mainly aimed at simplified interaction with digital assets. It will allow you to quickly and safely buy and sell cryptocurrency, invest in it around the world. This is how the head of VISA comments on the project:

‘Our strategy here is to work with wallets and exchanges… And it goes without saying, to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there's no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today’.

In light of this statement, it may be assumed that Crypto API will be the first step towards the globalization of instant crypto payments, which will be processed through VISA cards and served by licensed financial institutions. This would be the right decision given the wide adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Available crypto cards 

Kelly also recalled that VISA was now working now with the 35 largest crypto platforms that provide access to digital wallets. Together with VISA, crypto platforms issue cards that already allow users to pay with cryptocurrency, as with fiat money. There are quite a few similar platforms. The principle of their work is identical: you register on the resource, deposit your digital money, order a card, and transfer cryptocurrency to it from an account registered on the platform.

In the list of available cards, for several reasons, the TTM Bank card attracts special attention. The fact is that TTM Bank was able to develop a reliable account that is built into the infrastructure of the product itself. This means that when issuing a card, you do not need to register on the exchange — you can simply top up the card from any of your wallets. The probability of a cyberattack on the account is minimal, which is not the case with conventional crypto platforms. Cooperation with the well-known Lithuanian company UAB Walletto allows you to use the card almost all over the world, with the exception of a number of regions. It is convenient and safe to use the cards, since UAB Walletto is a member of the VISA payment system.

If you understand the capabilities of the TTM Bank card, you can identify clear advantages in comparison with similar financial products:

  • Available for the residents of almost all countries;
  • Supports five digital assets: BTC, ETH, USDT, BNB, and TRX;
  • Instant conversion of deposited cryptocurrencies into euros;
  • The control over funds remains in the hands of the owner;
  • The ability to withdraw fiat money from any ATM that supports VISA;
  • The deposited funds are stored in euros in a licensed bank.

 ‘The main advantage of cryptocurrencies is that the assets belong only to their owner,’ says Vladislav Utushkin, CEO of TTM Bank. ‘And we, in turn, have created a card that allows its holder to exercise full control over their own funds. This card is the link between the digital market and the classical financial system. The TTM Bank card is replenished with cryptocurrency, which is instantly converted into euros when deposited, allowing holders to use the card for purchases in any stores, restaurants, hotels, as well as used for online purchases. The TTM Bank card is not a crypto wallet for storing cryptocurrencies, but a convenient and reliable tool for daily expenses, a product that cryptocurrency owners were so much in need’.

 When choosing a cryptocurrency card, you should consider three aspects. First, the functionality. Secondly, the reliability of the supplier. As they say, if your money is stored in the bank, it is not your money, and if you are not the sole owner of your digital money, then their main advantage, decentralization, is lost. And finally, the transparency of the supplier’s activities. In the case of TTM Bank, the distribution, delivery and management of card accounts is handled by the company’s partner, the financial services operator UAB Walletto, a Lithuanian-registered company that is a member of the VISA payment network. Deposited funds in fiat currency are stored in a licensed bank. That is why the number of active users of the TTM Bank card is growing and expanding at a tremendous speed. 

In a couple of years, paying for goods and services with cryptocurrency will become a usual thing. The largest payment systems VISA and MasterCard have long started to realize the scale of the spread of cryptocurrencies in the world, so the inclusion of digital assets in the list of currencies supported by payment systems is only a matter of time. However, today you can pay for any goods or services with a TTM Bank card.