Payments Platform Wirex Launches Waitlist for Revolutionary Multicurrency Mastercard Card

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Oct 21, 2020, 07:01 ET

LONDON, Oct. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading payments company Wirex have launched the waitlist for their highly-anticipated Wirex multicurrency card, taking them one step closer to becoming the ultimate cryptocurrency platform. The move comes following the announcement of a product overhaul, with the launch of a Mastercard-enabled card heralding a number of game-changing product updates that will change the alternative payments space forever.

Payments Platform Wirex Launches Waitlist for Revolutionary Multicurrency Mastercard Card (PRNewsfoto/Wirex)

Just days after Wirex's record-breaking crowdfunding campaign came to a close, raising £3.7 million in 2 weeks, Wirex have launched the waitlist for a new multicurrency Mastercard debit card. This comes after being announced as financial services giant Mastercard's first 'crypto-native' principal member in July, and will be available to customers in the EEA region. The new product endeavours to achieve Wirex's core aim of bringing cryptocurrency to the mainstream, by making it even easier for its 3.1 million customers to utilise multiple cryptocurrencies in everyday life.

Due to launch in November, the new card is linked to 19 secure currency accounts in the Wirex app, allowing Wirex cardholders to seamlessly spend multiple fiat and cryptocurrencies, anywhere that accepts Mastercard, without exchanging or offboarding. The company believes that game-changing features like this, combined with exclusive interbank and OTC exchange rates, high limits and next-to-no fees, gives the new Wirex multicurrency card a significant advantage over its competitors – with some going so far as to suggest that it could set a new standard in the FinTech and crypto payments space.

The release of the new card is the latest in a long line of developments from the London-headquartered FinTech startup. Wirex recently announced a next-generation product overhaul, which began with a partnership with payment solution company LHV, including the launch of five new currencies, free multicurrency individual IBANs, free SEPA multicurrency transfers, and zero foreign exchange fees.

Wirex has already proven their innovation in the field prior to this, by not only debuting the world's first crypto-compatible Visa debit card, but also the first crypto rewards scheme, Cryptoback™, enabling users to automatically earn free cryptocurrency by spending in-stores with their Wirex cards. To complete the product overhaul, Wirex has announced a significant upgrade of this rewards system, including up to 2% Cryptoback™ rewards for all Wirex card spending (online and in-store) and up to 6% APR on customer's Wirex token (WXT) balance*.

Pavel Matveev, co-founder and CEO of Wirex, shared his excitement about the upcoming launch: "Since becoming the first-crypto native platform to achieve principal membership with Mastercard, and hinting at the launch of a revolutionary new Wirex Mastercard card in the EEA region, there has been an overwhelming response from users wanting to be the first to get their hands on the product. It's always been our aim to bridge the gap between the traditional and digital economy, and the benefits that the new product brings will realise this even further."

From today, new and existing users from across the EEA region are invited to join the waitlist for this much-anticipated product using the following link
Investors of Wirex's recent crowdfund will be the first to receive the card. After this, users can secure themselves priority access to the card on the waiting list by referring their friends and sharing the news within their social networks
Distribution of the card will begin with UK customers, with release to the rest of the EEA region planned afterwards

*APR refers to projected staking rewards on WXT balances held with Wirex

About Wirex

Wirex is a worldwide digital payment platform and regulated institution that has forged new rules in the digital payments space. In 2015, the firm developed the world's first contactless payment card that gives users the ability to seamlessly spend crypto and traditional currencies in real life.

Wirex was created in 2014 by CEOs and co-founders Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev, who identified the need to open up the esoteric world of cryptocurrencies and make digital money accessible for everyone. With the core aim of making it as easy as possible to use digital assets in everyday life, Wirex provides a trusted and cost-effective service for crypto and traditional currency transactions by incorporating the next generation of payments infrastructure integrated with cryptocurrency blockchains.

With over three million customers across 130 countries, the company offers secure accounts that allow customers to easily store, buy and exchange multiple currencies instantly at the best live rates on one centralised mobile app. Quick and simple money transfer options are available, as well as the freedom to spend 150+ traditional and cryptocurrencies in more than 54 million locations around the world using the Wirex card.

Wirex continues to develop the product in line with market developments, whilst adhering to regional regulations and securing appropriate licencing where it exists. A proven industry pioneer, Wirex introduced the world's first bitcoin reward programme, Cryptoback™, which earns cardholders up to 1.5% back in Bitcoin for every in-store transaction they make. They also launched their own native utility token, WXT, which entitles holders to rewards and incentives such as heavily-discounted fees and higher Cryptoback™ rewards.

Wirex is based in London with offices in Singapore, Kyiv, Tokyo, Toronto, Dallas, Dublin and Atlanta. With over $3bn worth of transactions processed already and rapid expansion into new territories, Wirex is uniquely placed to support and promote the mass adoption of a cashless society through creative solutions.

About the New Wirex Card

The new Wirex card is a multicurrency Mastercard debit card available to customers in the EEA region. The new card transforms an already cutting-edge Wirex product and card that holds 13 currencies, significantly improving and adding many features to make it even easier to spend multiple currencies at any time.

It is linked to 9 fiat and 10 crypto secure accounts in the Wirex app, allowing Wirex cardholders to seamlessly buy, hold, exchange and spend multiple fiat and cryptocurrencies in day-to-day life. State-of-the-art technology enables users to automatically utilise these currencies with the contactless debit card, without the need to exchange or offboard, at over 54 million locations around the world.

Features such as up to 1.5% of Cryptoback™ rewards, the best in-market rates, and low-to-no fees ensure that the new Wirex card will make the digital economy more accessible than ever. SEPA, SWIFT and Faster Payment functionality will allow customers to make cross-border payments to anyone around the world, whilst free international ATM withdrawals allow the card to be used as normal in any country.

The card is available to pre-order on the Wirex website from October 2020, with distribution planned from November 2020 to UK customers, followed by the rest of the EEA region in early 2021. Users that have registered for the waitlist have the opportunity to move further up the waitlist if they refer friends or share this amongst their social networks.

Key features of the new Wirex card include:

Multicurrency travel card
Ability to buy, hold, exchange and spend 10 digital and 9 traditional currencies
Available in 31 countries
Low-to-no commission on crypto purchases
No monthly fee
Free International ATM Withdrawals, with high limits
Cryptoback™ rewards
Best in-market rates
Free card delivery*
Automatically activated accounts
In-app live chat support
Cross-border transactions with SEPA, SWIFT and Faster Payments to anywhere in the world
Immediate cascading to a different currency in a prespecified order in case of low funds
In-app currency exchange rates