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Bitcoin debit cards take a hit
yesterday on January 5 Visa ordered the immediate suspension of all Wavecrest-issued Bitcoin debit cards that use the Visa network. Unfortunately, this means that nearly every Bitcoin debit card has been killed in its tracks and many users have been left out in the cold with funds on their cards that are now inaccessible.
This means that if you use one of the big Bitcoin cards, including but not limited to:
Wirex
Xapo
Bitwala
BitPay
and many more
... You are no longer able to use these cards for transactions and these cards could be swallowed by ATMs if you use them to try and withdraw cash.
What was most concering is the sudden unexpectedness of the suspension and lack of forewarnings from Visa. No time was given for users to evacuate their funds of their accounts, although merchants are taking steps to allow users to access their accounts. Some users could potentially have been left stranded, relying on their cards for scheduled payments of bills and mortgages, but worse, some travelers will likely have been caught out of the country with a reliance on their cards that they can now no longer access.
The current reason for the termination seems to stem from AML/KYC (Anti Money Laundering/Know Your Customer) laws, which require financial institutions to retain information from the users of their services in order to verify user integrity and legislation compliance.
Wavecrest was acting in non-compliance with these new laws (which became effective on January 1, 2018 in the country of Gibraltar, where Wavecrest is based), and as a result, could no longer continue to operate.
What next?
It seems as though this isn't part of the ongoing war between the System and Cryptocurrencies. Rather, it was part of an existing network of legislation that came into effect and is now being enforced by Visa.
There are already new players in the game stepping in to take a slice of the lucrative business of spending cryptocurrencies in traditional fiat markets. This latest news has only served to ignite the competition, especially as now there is a large void that quickly needs filling. Alot of money is now sitting in purgatory and there are many people with alot who are seeking access to their funds. Wirex is already in talks with a new provider that will allow them to continue operations, as well as offer the highly anticipated contactless debit card.
What will really be exciting is that opportunity for competition that will accelerate the options available to consumers. Up until now, the only available cryptocurrency debit cards for wide adoption have been Bitcoin cards, but there are enticing new rumors of cards that will allow for multiple currencies and alts. This is simply a bump in the road to mainstream adoption, and a minor setback at worse.
Now we're all waiting out for a card that will allow us to spend our Steem!