Options to acquire cryptocurrencies in Nigeria have been growing in number, along with increasing interest in bitcoin. Nigerians are also starting to see more opportunities to spend their coins in brick and mortar stores and at online merchants. Three crypto debit cards are now available to the residents of the African nation which is also the continent’s largest economy.
Also read: Nigerians Can Now Buy Bitcoin With Cash From Stores and ATMs That Take Naira
Crypto Exchange App First Kudi Issues Debit Card in Partnership With Stanbic IBTC Bank
Nigerian company First Kudi offers users a currency exchange and payments app. The mobile software facilitates purchases and sales of cryptocurrencies with Nigeria’s national fiat, the naira, and U.S. dollars. Users can link their bank account or credit card to the application which allows them to transact between Kudi wallets free of charge, deposit and withdraw funds from other crypto wallets and fiat accounts, and make payments at POS terminals.
Formerly known as Kudi Exchange, the fintech platform is owned by TLG Ventures in partnership with Ferrum Network and operates from Lagos. Besides the fiat options, which also include Ghanaian cedi and Kenyan shilling, its app supports bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH), the stablecoin Gemini dollar (GUSD), and the native Ferrum Network Token (FRM).
First Kudi now issues a debit Kudi Card in partnership with Nigeria’s Stanbic IBTC bank, member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Standard Bank Group, a South African financial services provider and Africa’s largest banking group. Holders can use the card to turn crypto into traditional money or buy goods and services with bitcoin and naira. Its balance can be topped up directly from the Kudi Wallet.
A Kudi account is needed to order and use the wallet and the Verve enabled card, and users need to pass KYC. The procedure involves providing full name, email address, and phone number, the Nigeria Bitcoin Community portal details. Certain fees apply to some transactions with First Kudi. Bitcoin withdrawals to another wallet are charged 0.0005 BTC per transfer. Withdrawing fiat to a bank account will cost you 100 NGN ($0.27) for naira and $10 for U.S. dollars. The POS transaction fee for bitcoin, naira, and dollars is 0.50%.
Patricia and Crypterium Provide Nigerians With More Crypto Card Options
Demand for this type of service in Nigeria, where around half of the population remains unbanked, is creating conditions inviting other offerings in the market. Patricia, a Nigerian e-commerce platform that started with gift cards trading, has set out to make it easy for customers to buy and sell bitcoin, as its website notes. The company behind it, Patricia Technologies, recently announced the launch of a new crypto debit card.
The Patricia Bitcoin ATM Card will allow users to withdraw cash directly from their BTC and Nigerian naira wallets, make POS payments and online transactions, transfer funds through teller machines like with any other debit card issued by a traditional bank, PM News Nigeria reported in late February. Registration is required to obtain the card.
Affirming the startup’s commitment to financial inclusion, Patricia founder Fejiro Hanu Agbodje acknowledged that payments won’t change overnight and predicted a long transitional period before the world starts to transact in digital currencies. That’s why his team focuses on combining digital infrastructure with existing card processing and banking infrastructure as a step towards mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. The Nigerian entrepreneur pointed out that Patricia card users will have access to cash and be able to pay bills, make over-the-counter transactions, and buy subscriptions. Agbodje further stated:
We will allow you to spend your bitcoin anytime, everywhere and anywhere.
Nigerians have another option to use cryptocurrencies through a debit card. Crypterium, an Estonia-based crypto payment and wallet provider, issues the Global Bitcoin Card, which allows holders to spend cryptocurrencies at merchants and withdraw fiat cash from ATMs in almost 180 countries around the world, as news.Bitcoin.com recently reported. The card, which is powered by the payment processor Unionpay, currently supports several major cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, LTC, as well as Crypterium’s own CRPT token.
To get the card you need to download the Crypterium wallet first and install it on your phone. To receive a download link, you have to provide your phone number. The app comes with a virtual card and the plastic one can be ordered separately. The platform delivers worldwide, including many countries not supported by other crypto card issuers. Nigeria is on the list along with other nations with potential to become important crypto markets such as India and Brazil. In November, Coinsutra reported that users of its portal from these countries have been able to obtain the debit card.
Do you know of other cryptocurrency debit cards available in Nigeria? Let us know in the comments section below.
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