Visa and Coinbase partner for instant crypto buys with debit cards

Coinbase and Visa offer customers with eligible Visa debit cards the ability to instantly deposit, withdraw and buy crypto.

Visa users with eligible debit cards will soon be able to instantly deposit and withdraw funds from their accounts with crypto exchange Coinbase, after the two firms announced a partnership.

“Coinbase already has millions of users with a debit card connected to their account,” Visa said in an Oct. 29 statement. Now, United States and European Union customers will get “real-time delivery of account funds for those using an eligible Visa debit card.”

Coinbase customers with an eligible Visa debit card will also be able to purchase crypto on the platform and cash out funds from the exchange to a bank account in real time — depending on the bank and region.

Yanilsa Gonzalez Ore — head of Visa Direct in North America — said the partnership means “those Coinbase users with an eligible Visa debit card know that they can take advantage of trading opportunities day and night.”

The move comes in a lull period for crypto offerings from traditional finance firms after FTX’s massive 2022 blow-up quashed confidence in the sector, tanked crypto markets and led to a banking crisis in early 2023.

Still, the EU’s crypto regulatory framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), began coming into effect earlier this year, offering more legal clarity for crypto asset service providers like Coinbase on how to operate locally.

In the US, several major crypto players — including Coinbase — have spent millions influencing the presidential and congressional elections, with many industry pundits now predicting the next administration or Congress will pass pro-crypto regulations, regardless of which candidate clinches victory on Nov. 5.

Visa has long worked with Coinbase by powering its crypto debit cards, which give users an outlet to spend their crypto through its network of vendors. 

The payments giant inked a similar deal with FV Bank on Oct. 28, backing the fintech firm’s debit cards, which can be funded with crypto and cash.