The San Francisco-based firm Coinbase announced that it launched a Visa debit card, which allows customers in the U.K. and EU to spend their cryptocurrencies directly from their Coinbase accounts.
In a blog post on Wednesday, Coinbase said customers will be able to spend their bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and other cryptocurrencies “as effortlessly as the money in their bank” with its new Coinbase Card. When customers complete a transaction, it will “instantly” convert cryptocurrency to fiat currency, such as the British pound (GBP), as the exchange reports.
The card supports all cryptocurrency assets that are available on the Coinbase platform to buy and sell. The Coinbase Card can be used for everyday purchases as well, including meals and booking tickets. Coinbase notes that customers had to previously pre-load a specified amount of cryptocurrency onto the card in order to spend.
The exchange also launched an app for the card on both Android and iOS platforms. The app enables customers to select which cryptocurrency wallet they will use to fund their spending. It also offers “instant” receipts, transaction summaries and spending categories.