Visa Makes Investment in Credit Card Tech Startup Deserve

The credit card giant has made an undisclosed investment in Deserve following the success of its crypto rewards card issued in partnership with BlockFi.

By Michael Bellusci

Oct 27, 2021 at 1:26 p.m. UTC

Updated Oct 27, 2021 at 4:24 p.m. UTC

Visa Takes First Step Into NFTs With CryptoPunk Purchase for Almost $150K

Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto payments reporter.

Follow @mikeybellusci on Twitter

Deserve said it received a strategic investment from Visa Inc. after an earlier report from Bloomberg on the relationship.

Deserve launched a Visa credit card in partnership with cryptocurrency financial services provider BlockFi in July. The card allows customers to earn rewards in the form of bitcoin.
Visa chose Deserve last year as a partner for its Fintech Fast Track program, which supports digital payment innovation, according to the statement
Mastercard previously invested in Palo Alto, California-based Deserve in June in a $50 million funding round that valued the company at more than $500 million, according to Bloomberg.
Visa also joins additional investors including Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Mission Holdings
Transaction volume for the card is approaching $2 billion on an annualized basis, and BlockFi cardholders are projected to spend roughly $30,000 per year, 50% above that of average credit card holders, Deserve’s co-founder and CEO Kalpesh Kapadia told Bloomberg.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.