Crypto on a Credit Card? BitPay Says Its Simplex Deal Makes it Easier And Cheaper

As part of its ongoing efforts to make purchasing cryptocurrency easier and attract new users, Atlanta-based blockchain-payment processor BitPay Inc. is teaming with Simplex Payment Services, a Vilnius, Lithuania-based financial institution, to enable European consumers to purchase cryptocurrency using a credit or debit card and incur no cardholder fees for 45 days. Simplex specializes in processing credit card transactions for the purchase of cryptocurrency.

The promotion is intended to encourage consumers who don’t own cryptocurrency to purchase the digital currency. Cryptocurrency exchanges may charge a transaction fee to consumers using a credit or debit card to buy cryptocurrency. The fee is typically disclosed at the time of purchase. In comparison, exchanges typically don’t charge fees for transactions initiated through the automated clearinghouse.

“We want to encourage first-time buyers to purchase crypto and experience firsthand how easy it is to purchase, store, and spend crypto through the BitPay Wallet app integration with Simplex,” said BitPay chief executive Stephen Pair in a prepared statement. “BitPay wants to make it simple to adopt crypto, and by working with Simplex, we can eliminate the need for users to navigate to a cryptocurrency exchange to fund the wallet.”

To purchase cryptocurrency through the BitPay wallet using a credit card, consumers click on the “Buy Crypto” button after opening the wallet and select the wallet into which they want their digital assets to be deposited. Consumers must select a wallet that supports the cryptocurrency they want to purchase, such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, PAX, or BUSD. Consumers will see a Simplex screen in their wallet confirming the purchase when the transaction is complete. 

“At Simplex, we empower hundreds of partners to enable millions of people to buy billions of dollars in digital assets,” Nimrod Lehavi, Simplex’s founder and chief executive, said in a prepared statement. “We’re excited to work alongside our friends at BitPay to help anyone, anywhere enter into the crypto space.”