Zipmex, an Asia-Pacific crypto-fiat trading platform, has partnered with Visa, the partnership will enable Visa to extend its integration with regulated crypto companies worldwide.
The platform’s payment network, ZipSend, will be incorporated into Visa’s global network of 70 million merchants, allowing users to spend their cryptocurrency. Zipmex plans to offer a Visa-branded payment card later this year as a result of the partnership.
Since its introduction in late 2019, Zipmex, which has compliant operations in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia, has grown to over 200,000 users and reported over $1 billion in gross transaction volume.
Any future payment product, such as a card, will still need to be approved by regulatory authorities in the appropriate jurisdictions, according to the business.
The platform’s ambition to become a crypto payment card issuer has put Zipmex in a position to “offer support and guidance to help authorities adopt successful digital asset legislation,” according to CEO Marcus Lim. One of the more rewarding components of this project has been this.”
Crypto exchange and payment service provider Crypto.com has forged a global agreement with Visa and launched its card in numerous locations, including Asia-Pacific, as previously reported.
Visa said in July that during the first half of 2021, its crypto-enabled cards had handled more over $1 billion in total spending.
With central bank digital currencies and private sector stablecoins attracting more legal and geopolitical attention, Visa and its rival Mastercard have been racing to keep their services at the forefront of the latest digital asset innovations.
This year, Visa’s CEO claimed that the blockchains of stablecoins may be viewed as payment rails akin to RPT or ACH networks. For its part, Mastercard recently announced agreements with Circle, Paxos, Evolve Bank & Trust, and others on a joint endeavor to enable banks and crypto businesses to roll out crypto cards that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
In addition, as part of Mastercard Start Path, the business recently unveiled a new startup engagement program to support fintechs and organizations working with digital assets, crypto, and blockchain technology.
Coinbase said this week that anyone with an Apple Pay-enabled Visa or Mastercard debit card can now acquire crypto assets on its platform, with Google Pay integration to follow.
