Bitcoin exchange CEX.IO offers instant withdrawals to Visa, MasterCard

CEX.IO, a UK-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced Thursday the launch of instant U.S. dollar, euro and Russian ruble withdrawals to payment cards.

In a press release sent to CoinReport, the exchange said it has enabled withdrawals of fiat funds to Visa and MasterCard. CEX.IO co-founder and CEO Oleksandr Lutskevych said there are no other exchanges aside from CEX.IO that currently offer instant withdrawals of fiat funds to Visa and MasterCard at low commissions.

Withdrawal requests are processed automatically, and, in most cases, instantly. CEX.IO said individual cases made require some time, and the exchange is in talks with payment service providers to enable momentary processing for all clients.

CEX.IO co-founder and CEO Oleksandr Lutskevych

“Global commonness of using payment cards effectively intersects with people’s will to buy and trade Bitcoins,” said Lutskevych in the press release.

The exchange said that once a card is linked to a CEX.IO profile, clients are able to deposit and withdraw fiat funds to their card in just a few steps. The company obtained a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certificate to ensure stringent safety of provided payment card data.

CEX.IO, which recently added Ether trading, intends to continue expanding payment options as well as introduce bitcoin-oriented debit cards where clients can load bitcoin directly.

Meanwhile, Coinbase announced via Twitter on Thursday that debit card purchases of bitcoin in the U.S. are now available in all 50 states.

Reporting on the announcement, TechCrunch said it’s a big deal, mainly because more and more American consumers rely solely on debit cards. The publication noted that a three- to five-day wait time to receive bitcoins have led many consumers to consider other platforms.

TechCrunch reported that Coinbase will charge a 3.75 percent fee on debit card payments, compared to one percent for buys funded by bank accounts. Clients wishing to use debit cards will have to confirm their identity before making their first purchase.

TechCrunch also said Coinbase will introduce a daily cap of $250 on debit card purchases, far below the $10,000 daily limit when using a bank account.

Despite the additional verification and low limit, said TechCrunch, debit card acceptance should still usher in a wave of new users registering to buy bitcoin on Coinbase.

The company also tweeted that the feature is coming to other nations soon, although, as TechCrunch pointed out, most European consumers have been able to use debit cards on the platform since last summer.

Image credits:

CEX.IO logo and Oleksandr Lutskevych’s photo – Courtesy of CEX.IO

Coinbase logo – Courtesy of Coinbase