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Digital-asset trading platform MEXC announced the launch of its MEXC Global Card, a Visa card allowing users for a limited time to pay no fees and earn up to 10% cash back in the stablecoin USDT, which is issued by the blockchain Tether.
The card is intended for routine payments. Information was not immediately available regarding how many of the cards will be issued, though the card will support transactions via Apple Pay and Google Pay, the company says.
The cashback offer ranges from 4% to 10%, capped at 800 USDT, MEXC says. The Global Card carries no annual fee or top-up levy, MEXC says, while transactions settle based on exchange rates from Visa. MEXC says it does not plan to charge any extra exchange-rate markups.
In support of its new card, the company cites data indicating rising levels of spending based on cards backed by stablecoins and other cryptocurrency. Indeed, global volume reached $1.04 billion in July, more than three times the sum recorded in the same month last year, according to Paymentscan, with the average ticket rising to $86 from $59. The USDT coin accounts for about 26% of all stablecoin-backed card spending, according to a16zcrypto, a venture-capital fund that invests in digital currencies.
MEXC’s aim is to make crypto-based transactions routine. “We want users to see digital assets not simply as an investment tool, but as part of a complete financial journey, from saving and yield-generating products to principal-protected solutions and, ultimately, everyday spending,” says Vugar Usi, a former Bain & Co. executive who took over as MEXC’s chief executive in December, in a statement.
Applicants for a card are subjected to what MEXC calls an “advanced identity verification,” with the new card available for use upon completion. The company says its exchange has 40 million users in more than 170 countries.. MEXC launched in 2018 as MXC Exchange and is headquartered in the Seychelles, an island nation in the Western Indian Ocean.
