Wirex becomes principal member of Visa in Europe

By Megha Bhattacharya

Payments platform Wirex has become a principal member of Visa in Europe. The principal membership will allow Wirex to issue Visa cards themselves, offer new products, and apply for additional licences.

“Digital currencies have the potential to extend the value of digital payments to a greater number of people and places,” said Cuy Sheffield, Senior Director and Head of Cryptocurrency, Visa. “We’re excited to work with innovative FinTechs like Wirex and enable their customers to use digital currencies at more than 61 million merchants on the Visa network.”

Recently, Wirex announced their first crowdfunding with an aim to raise £1 million. The company is expected to offer its customers with the opportunity to invest before they scale-up in the coming months. Wirex stated that individuals could pre-register to invest in the company.

Wirex offers their services to over 3 million people across the EEA and APAC regions. Wirex’s crypto-enabled debit card enables customers to spend up to 20 traditional and cryptocurrencies at over 61 million locations globally. The company was also the first to develop a cryptocurrency rewards scheme, Cryptoback, that rewards users up to 1.5% in Bitcoin for any purchases made with their debit card.

Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, said, “It’s been our core goal to unite the traditional and digital economies, and collaborations with trusted global payments companies such as Visa are making this possible by providing straight and cost-effective solutions for utilising crypto in the everyday. It’s no easy feat to achieve principal membership and will present numerous opportunities to continue developing a revolutionary product.”