One of the more comfortable ways of converting your crypto to FIAT is by using a crypto Debit Card. Popular cards from Bitwala and TenX are used by Cryptotraders who use the cards for payment when cryptocurrency isn't an option.
Visa however has blocked all cards issued by WaveCrest/MyChoice because WaveCrest apparently wasn't compliant to the Visa guidelines. It is still unknown what rules WaveCrest broke to deserve this treatment but the cards issued by WaveCrest are primarily used as altcoin prepaid cards.
The consequences of Visa's actions are that a lot of people who use the cards now don't have acces to the money on their cards.
The companies who issued used the cards for their services like Bitwala, TenX and Bitpay have announced that the money on the cards will be returned and that they are looking for alternatives.
Although it is still unclear what exactly went down it seems that Visa's actions were primarily targeted against WaveCrest and not some campaign against cryptocurrency.
The move by Visa has hit Europeans the hardest because WaveCrest is the only issuer of Visa debit Cards in Europe.
I have always been a big fan of exchanges with their own debit card like Payeer and SpectroCoin. Unfortunately Spectrocoin also used Mychoice. I reached out to the Spectrocoin supportdesk for answers if the card is still usable (still awaiting their answer).
Luckily my other go to crypto-Fiat exchange Payeer uses Mastercard and that card seems to be working without issues.
This is a big setback for Spectrocoin who have been really expanding their services by adding more coins to their exchange and even releasing their own coin Bankera (BNK).
So let's get things straight WaveCrest was a bit naughty and got slap on the wrist by Visa. This is not an anti-cryptocurrency crusade as far as we know. It is an inconvenience but one that will be solved soon, I can imagine that a lot of competitors are scrambling to take WaveCrest's place and earn (what I imagine) a lot of money.
I hope this gets resolved soon and just shows that we need a broader acceptancy of cryptocurrency, so that instead of exchanging crypto to FIAT, we can simply pay with our coins in stores
Read more about: The Visa-Wavecrest dispute | Payeer | Spectrocoin | Bankera |
